KBC Group NV Sells 1,764,322 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 62.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,060,966 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,764,322 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.07% of Huntington Bancshares worth $17,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter worth $2,381,000. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,460,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $744,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 844,466 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,414,000 after purchasing an additional 44,662 shares during the period. Finally, Petiole USA ltd purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $3,454,000. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HBAN opened at $17.23 on Wednesday. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $12.05 and a fifty-two week high of $18.44. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $16.98 and its 200 day moving average is $15.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.07.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.23%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HBAN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.06.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 28,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.67, for a total transaction of $505,362.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 496,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,765,662.92. This trade represents a 5.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 8,644 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.63, for a total value of $152,393.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 259,943 shares in the company, valued at $4,582,795.09. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by 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.