40,905 Shares in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. $PNFP Acquired by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP has acquired a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners, purchasing 40,905 shares valued at approximately $4,338,000, representing a 0.05% ownership of the company.
• During the first quarter, several large investors, including Wellington Management Group and Azora Capital, increased their stakes in Pinnacle Financial Partners, reflecting a broad interest from institutional investors who now hold 87.40% of the stock.
• Pinnacle Financial Partners recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.00, exceeding analyst expectations, and declared a dividend of $0.24, signifying a 1.0% dividend yield based on a payout ratio of 12.73%.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 40,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,338,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned 0.05% of Pinnacle Financial Partners at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PNFP. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 685,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,448,000 after acquiring an additional 125,431 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 8,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $5,656,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Kennedy Thompson bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $85.65 per share, for a total transaction of $856,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 28,372 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,061.80. This represents a 54.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas C. Farnsworth III bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $84.94 per share, with a total value of $84,940.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 28,277 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,401,848.38. This represents a 3.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 12,174 shares of company stock worth $1,047,079. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ PNFP traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.37. 1,155,899 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,111,655. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business's 50 day moving average is $101.61 and its 200-day moving average is $103.28. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.57 and a 12-month high of $131.91.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $504.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.27 million. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 18.69%.The firm's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Pinnacle Financial Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PNFP shares. Wall Street Zen raised Pinnacle Financial Partners from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Stephens lowered their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $133.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Hovde Group downgraded Pinnacle Financial Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $125.00 to $95.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $113.50.

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.