Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stake in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,086 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 486 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Park National were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in shares of Park National in the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Park National by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Park National during the fourth quarter worth $238,000. Fruth Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Park National in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Sabal Trust CO purchased a new position in shares of Park National in the fourth quarter worth about $266,000. 62.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PRK. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Park National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Park National in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Park National in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Park National Price Performance

Park National stock opened at $136.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.47. Park National Co. has a 1 year low of $90.28 and a 1 year high of $138.60.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.30. Park National had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 22.03%. The company had revenue of $121.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.29 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Park National Co. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Park National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Park National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.