The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $9.14 Million Investment in Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWAFree Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 308,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,142,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.75% of Heritage Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $172,125,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,213,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,550,000 after purchasing an additional 106,308 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,412,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,051,000 after purchasing an additional 45,422 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,573,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,212,000 after purchasing an additional 48,765 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 842,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,929,000 after buying an additional 4,170 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $28.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.59 and its 200 day moving average is $27.86. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The business had revenue of $84.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.30 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on HFWA. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Stephens upped their target price on Heritage Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Heritage Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on HFWA

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, EVP Kelli Ann Wilson sold 3,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.69, for a total transaction of $112,168.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,099 shares in the company, valued at $92,009.31. The trade was a 54.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 3,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total value of $96,761.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,231.04. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 24,546 shares of company stock worth $729,057 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

(Free Report)

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank’s offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company’s lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA)

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