Blue Trust Inc. Lowers Stake in Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Horizon Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBNC) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,250 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Horizon Bancorp were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Horizon Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $432,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Horizon Bancorp by 5.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,053,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,387,000 after acquiring an additional 52,423 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Horizon Bancorp by 62.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 109,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 42,218 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Horizon Bancorp by 37.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 106,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 28,999 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Horizon Bancorp by 7.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. 64.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Horizon Bancorp Stock Performance

HBNC opened at $16.97 on Wednesday. Horizon Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.18 and a 52-week high of $19.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The company has a market cap of $741.93 million, a P/E ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.05.

Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). Horizon Bancorp had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 8.48%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Horizon Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Horizon Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HBNC. StockNews.com raised shares of Horizon Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Horizon Bancorp from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday.

About Horizon Bancorp

Horizon Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Horizon Bank that engages in the provision of commercial and retail banking services. The company offers checking, saving, money market, certificate of deposits, individual retirement accounts, and time deposits, as well as non-interest- and interest-bearing demand deposits.