Phocas Financial Corp. Lowers Position in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP)

Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) by 85.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 62,780 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners were worth $1,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Pinnacle Financial Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the 4th quarter worth $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.40% of the company’s stock.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Price Performance

Pinnacle Financial Partners stock opened at $112.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $73.62 and a one year high of $131.91. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.19.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $475.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.33 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Pinnacle Financial Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PNFP. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.18.

Insider Activity at Pinnacle Financial Partners

In related news, Director David B. Ingram sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.50, for a total transaction of $5,060,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,185,361.50. This represents a 49.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Robert A. Mccabe, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.09, for a total value of $6,204,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 123,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,263,070. The trade was a 28.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 126,970 shares of company stock valued at $15,922,061 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

About Pinnacle Financial Partners

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.