Meeder Asset Management Inc. Makes New $63,000 Investment in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,015,000 after purchasing an additional 237,526 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth $43,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 26,705 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at $561,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 174.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 19,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 12,625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $49.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.34. The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.26. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $32.16 and a one year high of $57.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.11 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on HWC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.78.

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.