Welch Group LLC Makes New Investment in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. $PNFP

Welch Group LLC acquired a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NYSE:PNFP) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 31,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,731,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 63.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,330,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,551,000 after buying an additional 2,062,504 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,451,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,350,000 after acquiring an additional 179,819 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,067,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,634,000 after acquiring an additional 910,367 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,790,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,268,000 after acquiring an additional 110,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,188,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,765,000 after acquiring an additional 191,292 shares during the last quarter. 87.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of PNFP opened at $101.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.73. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.08 and a twelve month high of $120.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.04.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NYSE:PNFP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 10.61% and a net margin of 15.02%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 10.24 EPS for the current year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $122.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Stephens increased their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pinnacle Financial Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.06.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Profile

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NYSE: PNFP) is a bank holding company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, that provides a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Founded in 2000, the company operates through a network of banking offices and digital channels to serve individuals, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional clients. Pinnacle’s business model emphasizes relationship-based banking and tailored financial solutions for commercial borrowers and deposit customers.

The company’s product and service offerings include commercial and residential lending, treasury and payment solutions, deposit accounts, mortgage services, and cash management.