173,920 Shares in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 173,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,517,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.20% of Hancock Whitney at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company's stock worth $28,227,000 after purchasing an additional 96,092 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at approximately $810,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,235,000 after acquiring an additional 73,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $696,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.56.

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Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.30. 3,066,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 514,410. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12-month low of $41.56 and a 12-month high of $62.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.26.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. 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 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.