Cetera Investment Advisers Sells 12,309 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,309 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 72,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 7,725 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. Finally, Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HWC shares. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. 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 note on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,106,983.71. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $56.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $51.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.39. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $43.60 and a one year high of $62.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 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 firm had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.12 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 33.21%.

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.