Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) Stake Lifted by Azora Capital LP

Azora Capital LP grew its position in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP - Free Report) by 39.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 913,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 257,347 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners comprises approximately 4.7% of Azora Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Azora Capital LP owned about 1.18% of Pinnacle Financial Partners worth $104,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 82.5% in the 4th 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. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $979,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems grew its holdings in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 4,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 87.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Pinnacle Financial Partners

In other Pinnacle Financial Partners news, CEO M Terry Turner sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.63, for a total transaction of $201,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,615,567.76. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Glenda Baskin Glover sold 3,000 shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $304,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,711.65. This trade represents a 23.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,041 shares of company stock valued at $10,122,386 in the last three months. 1.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Stock Performance

PNFP stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $104.72. 506,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,417. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.62 and a 1-year high of $131.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $100.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.00.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $475.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $478.11 million. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 15.48%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Pinnacle Financial Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PNFP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group raised shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.50.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Profile

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.