Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 47,480 Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,023,370 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,480 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $58,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Financial USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $62.31 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.51. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.03 and a 12-month high of $70.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The company had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.04%.

Heartland Financial USA Company Profile

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.