Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 134,910 Shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 848,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 134,910 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners were worth $97,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the third quarter valued at about $70,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 87.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PNFP opened at $121.91 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $118.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.62 and a 1-year high of $131.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 1.09.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.10. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 15.48%. The business had revenue of $475.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $470.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Pinnacle Financial Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s payout ratio is 14.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PNFP shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group started coverage on Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays raised Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pinnacle Financial Partners

In other Pinnacle Financial Partners news, Chairman Robert A. Mccabe, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.09, for a total transaction of $6,204,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 123,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,263,070. The trade was a 28.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David B. Ingram sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.02, for a total value of $2,520,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 92,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,665,041.30. This trade represents a 17.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 126,970 shares of company stock worth $15,922,061 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Company Profile

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as the bank holding company for Pinnacle Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and professional entities in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, including savings, noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and provides treasury management services, which includes online wire origination, enhanced ACH origination services, positive pay, zero balance and sweep accounts, automated bill pay services, electronic receivables processing, lockbox processing, and merchant card acceptance services.