Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ: HWC) by 5.9% in Q4, selling 54,382 shares and leaving it with 870,288 shares (≈1.04% ownership) valued at about $55.4 million; institutional investors now own roughly 81.22% of the company.
• Hancock Whitney raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 (a $2.00 annualized payout and ~3.0% yield) and posted Q4 EPS of $1.49, slightly above estimates, while analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target price of $75.63.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 870,288 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,382 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.04% of Hancock Whitney worth $55,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth about $45,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 84,400.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 845 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $66.97 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $47.39 and a 1 year high of $75.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 24.05%.The business had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HWC. Zacks Research upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $75.63.

Hancock Whitney Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation NASDAQ: HWC is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company's core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

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