Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC Makes New Investment in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 213.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,663,000 after acquiring an additional 501,259 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 36.8% in the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,072,000 after purchasing an additional 163,438 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 780,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,350,000 after purchasing an additional 135,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 54.3% during the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 298,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,288,000 after buying an additional 105,175 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.63.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $59.10 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.33 and a 200-day moving average of $53.49. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $41.19 and a one year high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 1.27. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

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

About Hancock Whitney

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.