7,200 Shares in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRK. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in Park National during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Park National by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Park National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Fruth Investment Management purchased a new position in Park National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Sabal Trust CO purchased a new position in Park National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Park National in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Park National in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Park National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday.

Park National Trading Up 1.4 %

Park National stock opened at $137.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Park National Co. has a 1 year low of $90.28 and a 1 year high of $137.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.78.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.09. Park National had a net margin of 22.03% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company had revenue of $140.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.14 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Park National Co. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Park National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Park National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.67%.

Park National Profile

Park National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Park National Bank that provides commercial banking and trust services in small and medium population areas. The company offers deposits for demand, savings, and time accounts; trust and wealth management services; cash management services; safe deposit operations; electronic funds transfers; Internet and mobile banking solutions with bill pay service; credit cards; and various additional banking-related services.