Tredje AP fonden Sells 100,000 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden reduced its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 32.5%, selling 100,000 shares and retaining 207,476 shares valued at approximately $3.1 million.
• The bank's Board of Directors has approved a $1 billion share buyback program, allowing repurchase of up to 5% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.
• Huntington Bancshares has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.74% with a payout ratio of 45.93%.

Tredje AP fonden trimmed its position in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 32.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,476 shares of the bank's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $3,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,479,039 shares of the bank's stock valued at $528,434,000 after buying an additional 8,759,871 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 126.6% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,048,773 shares of the bank's stock worth $114,684,000 after purchasing an additional 3,938,769 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 356.1% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,432,186 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460,328 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 220.9% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,666,949 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,077 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 52,599,986 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,802,000 after buying an additional 2,310,502 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Huntington Bancshares stock traded up $0.25 on Monday, hitting $16.29. 24,050,879 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,670,559. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $16.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $11.91 and a one year high of $18.44.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 17th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.93%.

Huntington Bancshares declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 17th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $16.50 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.68.

Insider Activity

In other Huntington Bancshares news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 13,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total transaction of $216,323.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 337,879 shares in the company, valued at $5,335,109.41. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Company 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.