BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Position in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 18.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,890 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HTLF. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,714,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,601,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,404,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ HTLF opened at $67.97 on Thursday. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.03 and a 52 week high of $70.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97 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 (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at $470,420.28. This trade represents a 45.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Tuesday. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

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.