Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 12,229 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 213.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,963 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,229 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HWC. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.97. The company had a trading volume of 193,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,262. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $54.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.21. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total value of $443,049.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,669. This represents a 13.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HWC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial cut their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.00.

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.