Virtu Financial LLC Lowers Position in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Virtu Financial LLC trimmed its position in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,735 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,729 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter valued at $426,000. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth approximately $800,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth approximately $601,000. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,626,000. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth $13,714,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Shares of HTLF opened at $66.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.98 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a one year low of $32.03 and a one year high of $70.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.07 and a 200 day moving average of $54.47.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This trade represents a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Financial USA

Heartland Financial USA, Inc, a bank holding company, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, demand deposit accounts, NOW accounts, savings, money market, and individual retirement; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.