Norges Bank Makes New $302.83 Million Investment in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,612,539 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $302,826,000. Norges Bank owned 1.28% of Huntington Bancshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Carlson Capital Management raised its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 163,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.0% during 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 period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 13,766 shares of the bank’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,765 shares of the bank’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBAN opened at $14.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average of $16.14. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12 month low of $12.05 and a 12 month high of $18.45. The company has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.07.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (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%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 453,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,647,402.43. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total value of $53,695.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 47,950 shares in the company, valued at $731,237.50. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,781 shares of company stock worth $1,631,151 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HBAN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $18.50 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.18.

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.