USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 146,981 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 361,226 shares of the bank's stock after selling 146,981 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $5,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Carlson Capital Management increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 163,575 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,661,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,317 shares of the bank's stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 20,019 shares of the bank's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 13,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on HBAN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $16.50 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $18.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.83.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBAN traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $15.71. 15,335,681 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,971,563. The company's 50-day moving average price is $14.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.94. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1-year low of $11.91 and a 1-year high of $18.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 47.33%.

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

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total transaction of $1,013,520.96. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 453,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,647,402.43. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 70,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.69, for a total value of $964,008.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 326,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,469,182.64. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 312,456 shares of company stock worth $4,464,105. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.