Invesco Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 455,010 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,653 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.53% of Hancock Whitney worth $24,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $54,605,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth about $12,937,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company's stock worth $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company's stock worth $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,517,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on HWC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson cut 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. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the business'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 transaction of $40,299.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. The trade was a 3.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.1 %

Hancock Whitney stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $51.39. The stock had a trading volume of 130,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,648. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.99. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $43.60 and a one year high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is 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.