Arizona State Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its holdings in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Park National were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Park National during the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Park National by 19.8% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Park National by 82.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in Park National during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Park National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Park National Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Park National stock opened at $128.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.70. Park National Co. has a twelve month low of $90.28 and a twelve month high of $137.26.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $140.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.14 million. Park National had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 22.46%. Equities research analysts forecast that Park National Co. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Park National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $1.06 dividend. This is a boost from Park National’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Park National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler began coverage on Park National in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock.

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.