Heartland Financial USA (HTLF) Form 3 HEARTLAND FINANCIAL USA / DAVID L HORSTMANN ownership change

SEC Form 3

FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

HORSTMANN DAVID L

(Last) (First) (Middle)

1398 CENTRAL AVE

(Street)

DUBUQUE IA 52001

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
07/21/2015

3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
HEARTLAND FINANCIAL USA INC [ HTLF ]

4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

	Director	10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)
EVP - Finance/Corp Stategy

5. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Stock	2,200(1)(2)	D
Common Stock	1,066	I	Trust(3)
Common Stock	5,000	I	IRA(3)

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Non-Qualified Stock Option (Right To Buy)	(4)	02/06/2016	Common Stock	500	0.0	D
Non-Qualified Stock Option (Right To Buy)	(4)	01/16/2017	Common Stock	1,000	0.0	D
Non-Qualified Stock Option (Right To Buy)	(4)	01/24/2018	Common Stock	1,500	0.0	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Includes 1,550 Restricted Stock Units (RSU). Each RSU represents the right to receive one share of common stock. The grant vests in three equal installments on the third, fourth and fifth anniversaries of the grant date.

2. Includes 650 shares of Performance Based Restricted Stock.

3. Shares held through the Wealth Management Group at Dubuque Bank & Trust.

4. Represents options to buy granted under the Company's Stock Option Plan, a Rule 16(b)(3) plan, which options vest one-third per year beginning on the 3rd anniversary of date of grant.

Remarks:

Mr. Horstmann previously served as Interim CFO and filed reports under Section 16. When a permanent CFO was appointed, Mr. Horstmann assumed a previous role where he was not in charge of a business unit, division or function, and did not have policy-making authority. On July 21, 2015, the Board of Directors of Heartland determined that Heartland's increased activities in acquisition and the increased authority that they were assigning Mr. Horstmann caused him to again be an "Officer" as defined in Rule 16a-1(f).

	/s/ David L. Horstmann	07/23/2015
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5 (b)(v).
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