Aberdeen Group plc Sells 34,127 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,354,451 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 34,127 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $23,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HBAN. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $374,474,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 1,700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,351,087 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,164,000 after buying an additional 3,164,915 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 14,950.0% in the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,004,729 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,984,764 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 60,939,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,020,382,000 after buying an additional 2,776,429 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 176,300,218 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,954,792,000 after acquiring an additional 2,343,244 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Up 1.2%

HBAN opened at $17.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12 month low of $11.91 and a 12 month high of $19.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.01.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 11.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 44.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBAN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.60.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, insider Amit Dhingra sold 10,000 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $185,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 155,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,879,229. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Helga Houston sold 64,587 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.38, for a total transaction of $993,348.06. Following the transaction, the insider owned 534,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,222,763.20. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 114,732 shares of company stock worth $1,923,233. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Huntington Bancshares Profile

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) is a bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, Huntington National Bank. The company’s operations are centered on retail and commercial banking, and it serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional customers.

Huntington’s product offerings include traditional deposit and lending products, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, auto financing, and business banking solutions.