Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK – Get Rating) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 753 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Park National were worth $12,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Park National by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,601,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,397,000 after buying an additional 20,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Park National by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 565,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,557,000 after buying an additional 4,368 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Park National by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 387,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,963,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Park National by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 173,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,562,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Park National by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 137,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,039,000 after acquiring an additional 5,268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dan Delawder purchased 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $104.52 per share, for a total transaction of $62,712.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,712. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PRK shares. Piper Sandler cut shares of Park National from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 15th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Park National in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

Park National Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Park National stock opened at $101.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Park National Co. has a 1 year low of $99.10 and a 1 year high of $151.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $120.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Park National (NYSE:PRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 21st. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by ($0.05). Park National had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $116.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.90 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Park National Co. will post 8.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Park National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 18th. Park National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.95%.

About Park National

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Park National Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and non-banking financial services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Park National Bank (PNB), Guardian Financial Services Company (GFSC), and All Other. The PNB segment provides general banking and trust services in Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina.