Blue Trust Inc. Decreases Stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its position in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners were worth $132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PNFP. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners during the third quarter worth $30,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners during the third quarter worth $49,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.40% of the company’s stock.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Stock Performance

NASDAQ PNFP opened at $114.21 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.45.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.10. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a net margin of 15.48% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The company had revenue of $475.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Pinnacle Financial Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.05%.

Insider Activity at Pinnacle Financial Partners

In other Pinnacle Financial Partners news, Director David B. Ingram sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.02, for a total value of $2,520,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 92,565 shares in the company, valued at $11,665,041.30. This represents a 17.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Harold R. Carpenter sold 3,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.57, for a total value of $383,114.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,635,283.85. The trade was a 4.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 126,970 shares of company stock valued at $15,922,061. Corporate insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PNFP shares. Barclays upgraded Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group lowered shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.18.

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.