Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 590,982 shares of the company's stock after selling 104,641 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Hancock Whitney worth $32,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $54,605,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $12,937,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 544,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,795,000 after purchasing an additional 223,275 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,300,000 after purchasing an additional 193,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,983.71. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.25.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ HWC opened at $58.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $43.60 and a one year high of $62.40. The company's 50 day moving average price is $51.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.28.

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

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is currently 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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