Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 17,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 36,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 160,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after purchasing an additional 96,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,563 shares of company stock valued at $1,150,661 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on HWC shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.63.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $59.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.45. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.19 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.