Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) Sees Large Volume Increase After 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) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday following insider buying activity. Approximately 2,157,973 shares were traded during mid-day 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 bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $89.73 per share, with a total value of $89,730.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 105,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,426,136.50. This represents a 0.96% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $145.00) on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Hovde Group downgraded shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $118.30.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Trading Up 0.5%

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 market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $107.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.17.

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

Pinnacle Financial Partners Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 8,816 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the fourth quarter worth $2,081,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Pinnacle Financial Partners in the fourth quarter worth $726,000. 87.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.