American Century Companies Inc. Has $79.86 Million Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,459,346 shares of the company’s stock after selling 717 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $79,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $54.26 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $56.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.30. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $41.56 and a one year high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

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.