Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA – Get Rating) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 117,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,178 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $3,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 2.1% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 18,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.6% in the second quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 29,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 3.0% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 31,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 25.6% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on HFWA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Heritage Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Sunday, April 23rd. TheStreet lowered shares of Heritage Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, May 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on Heritage Financial in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other news, Director Brian Charneski acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.88 per share, for a total transaction of $79,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,159. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeffrey S. Lyon bought 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $30,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,281.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Charneski bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.88 per share, for a total transaction of $79,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,159. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HFWA opened at $16.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.48. Heritage Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $14.85 and a 1-year high of $34.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $571.13 million, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 0.57.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 4th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.77%.

Heritage Financial Profile

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Heritage Financial Corp. is bank holding company, which engages in the business of planning, directing, and coordinating the business activities of wholly owned subsidiary Heritage Bank. It includes commercial lending and deposit relationships with small and medium businesses and their owners in market areas, and attracting deposits from the general public.