National Pension Service Buys 207,798 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,783,961 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 207,798 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $48,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter worth $4,894,000. Midwest Trust Co increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 1,510,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,095,000 after buying an additional 170,240 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 176,980,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,056,459,000 after buying an additional 680,601 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,238,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $159,543,000 after buying an additional 314,544 shares during the period. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC now owns 478,852 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,270,000 after buying an additional 65,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBAN opened at $16.36 on Monday. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 52 week low of $14.89 and a 52 week high of $19.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.05 and its 200-day moving average is $16.77. The company has a market capitalization of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.94.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.21. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 65,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total transaction of $1,001,298.40. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 481,676 shares in the company, valued at $7,360,009.28. This represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James D. Rollins III bought 3,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.05 per share, for a total transaction of $63,760.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,975. This trade represents a 46.81% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 17,627 shares of company stock worth $333,188. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HBAN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays lowered shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.05.

Huntington Bancshares Company 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.