Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Reduces Holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,711 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 987 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $2,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HBAN. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 33.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 29,277,030 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,271,405 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 23.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,925,067 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $186,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,438,552 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,004,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 1,652.2% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,806,333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703,245 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 31.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,395,974 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,296,978 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN opened at $13.63 on Wednesday. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1 year low of $9.13 and a 1 year high of $14.07. The company has a market cap of $19.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.31 and a 200-day moving average of $12.21.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 15.86% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Helga Houston sold 28,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total value of $377,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 568,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,483,483.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Helga Houston sold 28,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total value of $377,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 568,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,483,483.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ann B. Crane sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $785,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 192,247 shares in the company, valued at $2,603,024.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 102,241 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,359. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HBAN. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $15.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.17.

About Huntington Bancshares

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.