KBC Group NV Has $2.81 Million Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 1,987.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,420 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 48,957 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of Hancock Whitney worth $2,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 170.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 30.7% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on HWC shares. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.56.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded up $1.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 425,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,800. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $62.40. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.32.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.30%.

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.