Norges Bank Takes $302.83 Million Position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,612,539 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $302,826,000. Norges Bank owned 1.28% of Huntington Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carlson Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 163,575 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the bank's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 13,766 shares of the bank's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,765 shares of the bank's stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Down 9.1 %

NASDAQ HBAN traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $13.83. 9,393,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,906,087. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1-year low of $12.05 and a 1-year high of $18.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $15.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.16.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 16.23%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of Huntington Bancshares 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 owns 47,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $731,237.50. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $6,647,402.43. This represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,781 shares of company stock valued at $1,631,151 in the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Baird R W upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $18.50 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.94.

Huntington Bancshares Profile

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.