Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 355,600 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has reduced its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 31.4%, selling 355,600 shares during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 776,735 shares worth approximately $11.66 million.
• In contrast, Teacher Retirement System of Texas significantly increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 1,462.4%, acquiring 198,796 shares during the same period.
• Analysts have varying views on Huntington Bancshares, with a majority rating it as a Moderate Buy and setting an average price target of $18.74, while some have downgraded their ratings.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 31.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 776,735 shares of the bank's stock after selling 355,600 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.05% of Huntington Bancshares worth $11,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HBAN. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 43,808 shares of the bank's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 5,022 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 156,671 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,549,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the bank's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $428,000. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 41,100 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $739,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 299,361 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,498. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.74.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Huntington Bancshares stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.73. The stock had a trading volume of 6,241,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,635,791. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12 month low of $11.91 and a 12 month high of $18.44. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $17.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.78. The stock has a market cap of $25.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.93%.

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.