Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Holdings Raised by Westchester Capital Management LLC

Westchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 260.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 421,000 shares during the quarter. Heartland Financial USA accounts for 1.4% of Westchester Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned about 1.36% of Heartland Financial USA worth $33,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,576 shares of the bank’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter worth approximately $935,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 18.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,890 shares of the bank’s stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 49.5% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 17,266 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 5,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after buying an additional 53,755 shares during the period. 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 John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $67.57 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.65 and a fifty-two week high of $70.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.75 and a beta of 0.94. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Sunday, November 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.