Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $180,000 in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,161 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $180,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 31.8% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,992 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 184.0% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,007 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, VP Rajeev Syal sold 11,627 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.67, for a total value of $158,941.09. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 329,607 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,727.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Rajeev Syal sold 11,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.67, for a total value of $158,941.09. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 329,607 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,727.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Julie C. Tutkovics sold 15,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $197,059.88. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 303,455 shares in the company, valued at $3,847,809.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 224,092 shares of company stock worth $3,031,731. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 22nd. DA Davidson upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $15.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.17.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of HBAN opened at $14.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.49. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1-year low of $9.13 and a 1-year high of $14.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 15.86%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 17th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.86%.

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.