Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,362,514 shares of the bank's stock after selling 836,262 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.16% of Huntington Bancshares worth $38,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 69,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,124,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 103,050 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 42,950 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5,022 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $599,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 23,252 shares of the bank's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 6,542 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN stock opened at $14.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a one year low of $11.92 and a one year high of $18.45. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $14.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.95.

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

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HBAN shares. Baird R W raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.45.

Insider Activity

In other Huntington Bancshares news, insider Helga Houston sold 42,345 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.72, for a total value of $623,318.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 592,119 shares in the company, valued at $8,715,991.68. The trade was a 6.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 38,451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.38, for a total value of $552,925.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 335,538 shares in the company, valued at $4,825,036.44. The trade was a 10.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.