Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 24,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,176,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 420.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,568 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. DMC Group LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HWC. Citigroup raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total value of $828,068.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 71,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,330,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total transaction of $828,068.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 71,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,330,437.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.00. 395,028 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,714. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.75. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.02 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.33.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Hancock Whitney Company 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.