Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $3,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $43,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at $63,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $95,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $40,760.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,105. This trade represents a 4.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.0 %

HWC stock opened at $55.26 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.26. 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 1-year low of $41.19 and a 1-year high of $62.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of Hancock Whitney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James raised Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

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.