HighTower Advisors LLC Invests $225,000 in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,991 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter valued at about $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth about $238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,420.28. This trade represents a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 1.4 %

HTLF stock opened at $62.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.03 and a 52-week high of $70.27.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced 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 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.