Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 7,120 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,120 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $5,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 71.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,903,000 after purchasing an additional 725,257 shares during the period. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,194,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 105.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 73,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,595,000 after buying an additional 37,606 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 20,792 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 90.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 16,489 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of HFWA stock opened at $23.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.98. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $16.55 and a 12 month high of $27.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $789.95 million, a PE ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. Analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total transaction of $101,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,752.92. This trade represents a 50.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.