Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division decreased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 37.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,217 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,578 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,655 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,521,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,935,000 after purchasing an additional 126,367 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $80,246,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 920,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,595,000 after purchasing an additional 162,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 134.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,941,000 after purchasing an additional 521,261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This represents a 33.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $78.32 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.95. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $54.05 and a twelve month high of $79.36.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The company had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Hancock Whitney’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group cut Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 12th. Stephens reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.