ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,466 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,303 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HWC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,539,000 after buying an additional 181,706 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,898,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,557,000 after purchasing an additional 12,172 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company's stock worth $72,300,000 after buying an additional 193,028 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,265,146 shares of the company's stock worth $69,229,000 after buying an additional 66,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HWC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.25.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $55.07. 41,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 594,204. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $52.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.37. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52-week low of $43.60 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.21%.

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.