Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases Shares of 32,075 Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. invested approximately $481,000 in Huntington Bancshares by acquiring 32,075 shares, showcasing institutional interest in the bank's stock.
• The stock price of Huntington Bancshares rose by 1.2% to $16.84, with a market cap of $24.60 billion reflecting a steady trading volume.
• Huntington Bancshares declared a $0.155 quarterly dividend with a 3.68% yield and announced a $1.00 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's confidence in the company's valuation.

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 32,075 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 52,599,986 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310,502 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,479,039 shares of the bank's stock worth $528,434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,759,871 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,828,775 shares of the bank's stock worth $357,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $302,826,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,422,723 shares of the bank's stock worth $234,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241,926 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 59,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.36, for a total transaction of $848,101.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 277,348 shares in the company, valued at $3,982,717.28. This trade represents a 17.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 13,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total value of $216,323.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 337,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,335,109.41. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,105 shares of company stock worth $1,687,743 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Down 0.9%

Huntington Bancshares stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,629,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,146,762. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.93. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1 year low of $11.91 and a 1 year high of $18.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average is $16.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.73.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HBAN has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $21.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus set a $17.00 price target on Huntington Bancshares in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $16.50 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.68.

Huntington Bancshares 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.