Jennifer K. Hopkins Sells 5,811 Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Stock

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $392,591.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $66.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.03 and a 1-year high of $70.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,111,000 after buying an additional 54,030 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,999,000 after acquiring an additional 182,245 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after acquiring an additional 53,755 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,626,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,023,370 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,036,000 after purchasing an additional 47,480 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.