Swiss National Bank Sells 1,900 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 169,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $8,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HWC. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $844,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $2,605,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 35.4% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 102,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 26,705 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 22.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 10,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $508,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $61.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.61 and a 200-day moving average of $50.61. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $39.38 and a one year high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The business had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HWC shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney 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.