Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Trims Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.8% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 692,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,429,000 after acquiring an additional 55,869 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth about $844,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 66.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth about $2,605,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on HWC shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted 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, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $59.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $41.19 and a twelve month high of $62.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.00. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.