Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 15,993 Shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 370,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,993 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners were worth $36,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,326,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 10.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,094,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,673,000 after purchasing an additional 292,401 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 11.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,716,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,127,000 after buying an additional 282,016 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the third quarter worth about $21,576,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 983,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,332,000 after buying an additional 208,938 shares in the last quarter. 87.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Harold R. Carpenter sold 3,051 shares of the firm’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 owns 60,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,635,283.85. This trade represents a 4.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Robert A. Mccabe, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.09, for a total value of $6,204,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 123,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,263,070. This represents a 28.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,661 shares of company stock worth $9,563,127. Corporate insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PNFP. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hovde Group cut shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pinnacle Financial Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.55.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ:PNFP opened at $111.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 1.08. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.62 and a 12 month high of $131.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.47 and its 200 day moving average is $98.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.07. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $810.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s payout ratio is 16.73%.

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.