Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 4,400 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,739 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,400 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 213.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,790 shares of the company's stock worth $34,663,000 after acquiring an additional 501,259 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,072,000 after purchasing an additional 163,438 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 780,882 shares of the company's stock worth $37,350,000 after buying an additional 135,076 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,227,000 after buying an additional 96,092 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HWC. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.60. 690,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 747,435. The company's 50-day moving average is $57.37 and its 200 day moving average is $54.07. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Hancock Whitney news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.