Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 276,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,234 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.33% of Hancock Whitney worth $15,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 929.5% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 6,107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 9,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.86, for a total value of $542,784.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,057,512.38. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of HWC stock opened at $62.93 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.90 and a 1-year high of $64.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 23.99%.The business had revenue of $175.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.32 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation 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, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $70.14.

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.