Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Shares Acquired by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,132,335 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 113,300 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Huntington Bancshares worth $18,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carlson Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 163,575 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the bank's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 20,019 shares of the bank's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 13,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total value of $1,013,520.96. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 453,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,647,402.43. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total value of $53,695.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at $731,237.50. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 207,617 shares of company stock valued at $2,942,892. Insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBAN has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.45.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN stock opened at $14.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.60 and a 200-day moving average of $15.99. The company has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12-month low of $11.92 and a 12-month high of $18.45.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 16.23%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is 47.33%.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage banking services in the United States. The company offers financial products and services to consumer and business customers, including deposits, lending, payments, mortgage banking, dealer financing, investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and other financial products and services.

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