KBC Group NV Acquires 282 Shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 55.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 787 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Park National were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Park National by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,792,000 after buying an additional 17,627 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Park National by 729.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 6,873 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Park National by 42.5% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Park National by 30.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbor Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Park National during the 3rd quarter worth $687,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price (down from $187.00) on shares of Park National in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Park National Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PRK opened at $172.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.67. Park National Co. has a one year low of $123.08 and a one year high of $207.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Park National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from Park National’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Park National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.54%.

Park National Company Profile

Park National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Park National Bank that provides commercial banking and trust services in small and medium population areas. The company offers deposits for demand, savings, and time accounts; trust and wealth management services; cash management services; safe deposit operations; electronic funds transfers; Internet and mobile banking solutions with bill pay service; credit cards; and various additional banking-related services.