Arkadios Wealth Advisors Sells 542 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors cut its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 213.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,663,000 after buying an additional 501,259 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 149.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,072,000 after purchasing an additional 163,438 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after purchasing an additional 96,092 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.7 %

HWC opened at $58.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.81. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In related 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 value of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently 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.