Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 389,314 Shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. $PNFP

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 53.7% in the first quarter, selling 389,314 shares and leaving it with 335,911 shares worth about $28.9 million.
• Pinnacle Financial Partners reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.39 versus estimates of $2.30 and revenue of $1.22 billion versus expectations of $1.20 billion.
• Analysts remain generally positive on PNFP, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target price of $116.89.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PNFP - Free Report) by 53.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 335,911 shares of the company's stock after selling 389,314 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.43% of Pinnacle Financial Partners worth $28,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,330,170 shares of the company's stock worth $508,551,000 after buying an additional 2,062,504 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,451,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,350,000 after acquiring an additional 179,819 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,067,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,634,000 after acquiring an additional 910,367 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,790,636 shares of the company's stock worth $266,268,000 after purchasing an additional 110,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,188,080 shares of the company's stock worth $208,765,000 after purchasing an additional 191,292 shares during the last quarter. 87.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners stock opened at $100.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.08 and a 12-month high of $119.85. The firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.04. The company's 50 day moving average is $97.53.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NYSE:PNFP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.09. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 10.61%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PNFP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Pinnacle Financial Partners from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Benchmark started coverage on Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.89.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Profile

Pinnacle Financial Partners NYSE: PNFP is a bank holding company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Founded in 2000, the company operates through a network of banking offices and digital channels to serve individuals, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional clients. Pinnacle’s business model emphasizes relationship-based banking and tailored financial solutions for commercial borrowers and deposit customers.

The company’s product and service offerings include commercial and residential lending, treasury and payment solutions, deposit accounts, mortgage services, and cash management.

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