Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,750 Shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,750 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Park National were worth $9,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Park National by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Park National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Fruth Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Park National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Sabal Trust CO purchased a new stake in Park National in the fourth quarter worth $266,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Park National in the fourth quarter valued at $267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PRK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Park National in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Park National in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Park National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th.

Park National Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PRK opened at $136.76 on Monday. Park National Co. has a 1 year low of $90.28 and a 1 year high of $144.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.36 and a 200 day moving average of $128.83. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 0.70.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.30. Park National had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 22.03%. The firm had revenue of $121.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.29 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Park National Co. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Park National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Park National’s payout ratio is presently 53.67%.

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.