Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Prospera Financial Services Inc

Prospera Financial Services Inc cut its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 15.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,596 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 19.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 5.5% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 10.6% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HWC shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $59.97 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.25. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $39.38 and a 1 year high of $61.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.52.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

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.