Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Sold by Sapience Investments LLC

Sapience Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,502 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,163 shares during the period. Sapience Investments LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Hancock Whitney worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $40,299.42. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson reduced 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. 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of HWC stock opened at $56.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $43.60 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.21%.

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.