Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 28,680 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 53.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,557 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,680 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $138,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.3 %

HWC traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.13. The stock had a trading volume of 144,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,694. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $43.60 and a one year high of $62.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock's 50 day moving average is $51.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.08.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 23,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. This trade represents a 3.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.