Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Pinnacle Financial Partners experienced a significant increase in trading volume, up 225% to 2,157,973 shares, following an insider purchase of 1,000 shares by CFO Harold R. Carpenter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Pinnacle Financial Partners, with Barclays lowering its price target to $125, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised theirs to $130, resulting in a consensus target price of $118.30.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 12.73%.

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. 2,157,973 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 225% from the previous session's volume of 663,479 shares.The stock last traded at $85.84 and had previously closed at $87.65.

Specifically, CFO Harold R. Carpenter purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $89.73 per share, with a total value of $89,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 105,050 shares in the company, valued at $9,426,136.50. The trade was a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Pinnacle Financial Partners from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $133.00 to $104.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $118.30.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Trading Down 2.2%

The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.25 and a 200 day moving average of $108.54.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP - Get Free Report) last released 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Pinnacle Financial Partners's payout ratio is 12.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,003,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $343,549,000 after buying an additional 286,894 shares during the period. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,940,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,917,000 after acquiring an additional 705,000 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 5.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,592,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $168,873,000 after acquiring an additional 88,282 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,559,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $178,425,000 after acquiring an additional 566,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 2.2% during the second quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 1,076,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,908,000 after acquiring an additional 23,552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.40% of the company's stock.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Company 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.

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