Millennium Management LLC Has $23.33 Million Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Millennium Management LLC cut its holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 426,358 shares of the company’s stock after selling 499,090 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.50% of Hancock Whitney worth $23,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ HWC opened at $56.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $43.60 and a twelve month high of $62.40. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $51.83 and its 200 day moving average is $55.43.

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

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective 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. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

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

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.