Arizona State Retirement System Has $600,000 Stock Holdings in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its position in shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Park National were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRK. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Park National during the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing 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. 62.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Park National Stock Performance

NYSE:PRK opened at $128.01 on Friday. Park National Co. has a 1 year low of $90.28 and a 1 year high of $137.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.54 and a 200-day moving average of $121.74. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41 and a beta of 0.70.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.09. Park National had a net margin of 22.46% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company had revenue of $140.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.14 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Park National Co. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Park National Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Park National in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company.

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.