Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 373,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,546 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners were worth $42,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 48.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 189.9% in the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 1,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. 87.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners stock opened at $87.19 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $112.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.29.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $475.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.33 million. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 15.48%. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. Equities research 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 $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Pinnacle Financial Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s payout ratio is presently 16.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PNFP. Hovde Group cut their price target on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pinnacle Financial Partners

In other Pinnacle Financial Partners news, Director Glenda Baskin Glover sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $304,650.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,009,711.65. This trade represents a 23.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David B. Ingram sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.50, for a total value of $5,060,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,185,361.50. The trade was a 49.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,350 shares of company stock valued at $11,421,320. Corporate insiders own 1.46% 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.