American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Position in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,027 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,564 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Park National worth $6,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Park National by 162.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Park National by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Park National by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Park National in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Park National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Park National Stock Performance

Park National stock opened at $142.71 on Friday. Park National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.08 and a fifty-two week high of $207.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $161.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.72. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.07 dividend. This is a boost from Park National’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Park National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target (down previously from $187.00) on shares of Park National in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Park National in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $185.50 target price on the stock.

Park National 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.