Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 86,478 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,631,211 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 86,478 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $21,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 225,470 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,161 shares of the bank’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 5,607 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 541,550 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,888,000 after buying an additional 40,263 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $1,485,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 125.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 67,978 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 37,828 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, VP Nancy E. Maloney sold 57,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $871,685.55. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 69,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,054,364.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Nancy E. Maloney sold 57,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total transaction of $871,685.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 69,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,054,364.25. 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 33,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.13, for a total transaction of $499,290.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 265,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,021,690.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,622 shares of company stock valued at $1,762,904. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:HBAN opened at $14.97 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.59. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 52 week low of $9.25 and a 52 week high of $15.24. The stock has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 14.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBAN has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Argus upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.59.

Huntington Bancshares Company 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.