Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 21,044 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 764,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,044 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.94% of Hancock Whitney worth $48,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HWC. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Hovde Group downgraded Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 12th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Stephens lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $76.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.79. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $79.36.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The firm had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.07%.

About Hancock Whitney

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.