768,285 Shares in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Purchased by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 768,285 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $12,500,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.05% of Huntington Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 22,961 shares of the bank's stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 10,202 shares in the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $335,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $365,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,410,495 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,949,000 after acquiring an additional 691,257 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on HBAN shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Cowen started coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 70,417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,469,182.64. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total transaction of $1,013,520.96. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 453,129 shares in the company, valued at $6,647,402.43. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,456 shares of company stock worth $4,464,105 over the last ninety days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Down 0.5%

HBAN stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $15.64. 25,570,575 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,219,841. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a twelve month low of $11.92 and a twelve month high of $18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's fifty day moving average is $14.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors 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 repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.