Insider Selling: Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) EVP Sells $29,047.68 in Stock

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This trade represents a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ HTLF opened at $67.72 on Thursday. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.67 and a 1 year high of $70.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.35 and its 200-day moving average is $52.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas grew its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Sunday. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.