First Community Trust NA Trims Stock Position in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

First Community Trust NA decreased its stake in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,782 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in 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 period. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% during the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,049,000 after buying an additional 421,000 shares in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at $10,601,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,274.40. This trade represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $64.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.03 and a twelve month high of $70.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.86 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.73.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The business had revenue of $272.79 million for 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 business posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

About Heartland Financial USA

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.