AlphaQuest LLC Buys 34,624 Shares of Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK)

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) by 124.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 62,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,624 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Heritage Commerce were worth $586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Heritage Commerce during the third quarter valued at about $20,093,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,965,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,421,000 after buying an additional 61,630 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 500,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,696,000 after buying an additional 4,447 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,350,000 after buying an additional 170,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 310,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after buying an additional 45,010 shares in the last quarter. 75.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Commerce Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTBK opened at $9.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $579.31 million, a P/E ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $9.83 and its 200-day moving average is $9.97. Heritage Commerce Corp has a 52-week low of $7.66 and a 52-week high of $11.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. Heritage Commerce had a return on equity of 5.96% and a net margin of 16.12%. Equities research analysts predict that Heritage Commerce Corp will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Commerce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Heritage Commerce’s payout ratio is 78.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Commerce

In related news, Director Jack W. Conner sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.52, for a total value of $42,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 108,512 shares in the company, valued at $1,141,546.24. The trade was a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robertson Clay Jones, Jr. sold 5,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.73, for a total transaction of $50,060.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 254,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,473,628.71. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,747 shares of company stock valued at $107,728. 3.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Commerce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens raised Heritage Commerce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Heritage Commerce from $12.50 to $11.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

About Heritage Commerce

Heritage Commerce Corp operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank of Commerce that provides various commercial and personal banking services to residents and the business/professional community in California. Its deposit products for business banking and retail markets include interest and non-interest-bearing demand, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and time deposits.