Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Grows Stock Position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 356.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,432,186 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 3,460,328 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned about 0.31% of Huntington Bancshares worth $72,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 17,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 1,587 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 126.8% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,830 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 3,061 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HBAN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $16.50 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $17.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.45.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.40. 17,838,810 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,329,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.99. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 52-week low of $11.92 and a 52-week high of $18.45. The company has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.33%.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, April 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 70,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.69, for a total value of $964,008.73. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 326,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,469,182.64. This represents a 17.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 38,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.38, for a total value of $552,925.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,825,036.44. The trade was a 10.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 207,617 shares of company stock worth $2,942,892 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

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.