Westchester Capital Management LLC Buys 421,000 Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 260.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 421,000 shares during the quarter. Heartland Financial USA comprises 1.4% of Westchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Westchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $33,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter worth approximately $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

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

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of HTLF opened at $67.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 0.94. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.65 and a 52 week high of $70.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.87.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a report on Sunday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

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.