Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,069,063 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,217 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney accounts for 1.9% of Hancock Whitney Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Hancock Whitney Corp owned 1.24% of Hancock Whitney worth $58,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 149.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after buying an additional 96,092 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 160,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after acquiring an additional 6,506 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 36,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 17,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC stock opened at $50.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.06. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52-week low of $43.60 and a 52-week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. The company had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.12 million. Equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 33.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total transaction of $40,299.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,983.71. This trade represents a 3.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.