Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,032,234 shares of the company's stock after selling 125,372 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 2.36% of Hancock Whitney worth $111,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $54,605,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 149.2% in 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $9,517,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $28,227,000 after buying an additional 96,092 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 3.9 %

Hancock Whitney stock traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.94. The stock had a trading volume of 228,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,278. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.37. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $41.56 and a twelve month high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.99.

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Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. This is a boost 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 34.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HWC. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney 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.