Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Director Christine L. Pickering Sells 1,300 Shares

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,058.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $46.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.15. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52-week low of $31.02 and a 52-week high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 48,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 11,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 12.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,102,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,755,000 after purchasing an additional 148,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 5.6% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HWC shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

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.