Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 53.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,557 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,680 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth about $1,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company's stock worth $67,235,000 after buying an additional 73,875 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 135.4% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 12,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 7,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $696,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $48.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $52.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.15. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $43.60 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The company has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. The company had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.12 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is 33.21%.

About Hancock Whitney

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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