Sage Investment Counsel LLC Makes New Investment in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 75,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,671,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners makes up approximately 11.3% of Sage Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PNFP. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.40% of the company’s stock.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PNFP opened at $114.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 1.09. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.62 and a 1-year high of $131.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.41.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $475.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.33 million. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 15.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Pinnacle Financial Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s payout ratio is currently 16.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PNFP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Robert A. Mccabe, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.09, for a total value of $6,204,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 123,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,263,070. This represents a 28.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Harold R. Carpenter sold 3,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.57, for a total value of $383,114.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,635,283.85. This trade represents a 4.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 166,970 shares of company stock valued at $20,474,461. 1.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.