Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 373,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,546 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.48% of Pinnacle Financial Partners worth $42,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 1,054.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,057,000 after buying an additional 24,407 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 482,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 12,455 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,328,564 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $130,192,000 after purchasing an additional 8,604 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 101,563.6% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 22,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 22,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 27.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 983,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,332,000 after buying an additional 208,938 shares during the last quarter. 87.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PNFP. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group decreased their target price on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO M Terry Turner sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.63, for a total transaction of $201,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,615,567.76. This represents a 0.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Robert A. Mccabe, Jr. sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.81, for a total transaction of $4,552,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 83,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,446,230. The trade was a 32.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,350 shares of company stock valued at $11,421,320. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company's stock.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PNFP traded down $5.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.44. 216,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 492,735. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $108.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.02. The firm has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.94. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a one year low of $73.62 and a one year high of $131.91.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.10. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 15.48%. The company had revenue of $475.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Pinnacle Financial Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Pinnacle Financial Partners's payout ratio is 16.05%.

About Pinnacle Financial Partners

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.