William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 594,814 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,545 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.69% of Hancock Whitney worth $32,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 105.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 74,736 shares of the company's stock worth $3,824,000 after buying an additional 38,398 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at about $315,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 32,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at about $810,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.56.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on HWC
Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.6 %
Shares of NASDAQ HWC traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.30. 3,066,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 515,022. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $56.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.24. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12 month low of $41.56 and a 12 month high of $62.40.
Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.
Hancock Whitney Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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