First Trust Advisors LP Sells 47,024 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,024 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.17% of Hancock Whitney worth $8,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.08. 424,967 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 583,869. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 0.99. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $43.60 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The firm's 50 day moving average is $51.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.11.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. The firm had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is presently 33.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 target price (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.