16,250,198 Shares in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 16,250,198 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $206,703,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.12% of Huntington Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HBAN. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 46,642,476 shares of the bank’s stock worth $593,408,000 after acquiring an additional 17,365,446 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Huntington Bancshares by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,925,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $186,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,438,552 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $20,004,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Huntington Bancshares by 1,652.2% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,806,333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Huntington Bancshares by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,395,974 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,978 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 15,711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $217,440.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,298.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Ann B. Crane sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $785,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 192,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,603,024.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 15,711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $217,440.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 65,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,298.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,551 shares of company stock worth $2,834,671 in the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of HBAN stock opened at $13.92 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12 month low of $9.25 and a 12 month high of $14.30. The company has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.17.

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.