Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 90,117 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 200,428 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90,117 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $10,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $669,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. DMC Group LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 53.9% in the 3rd quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 8,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 152,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,826,000 after buying an additional 7,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HWC. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.89.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $57.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.23. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.25. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12-month low of $39.38 and a 12-month high of $61.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,669. This represents a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.