Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stock Position in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 7.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,666 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.20% of Park National worth $4,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Park National by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Park National by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Park National by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 12,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Park National by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spreng Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Park National by 11.6% in the first quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Park National Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PRK opened at $166.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Park National Co. has a 1 year low of $91.78 and a 1 year high of $190.84. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.88.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $126.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.52 million. Park National had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 22.67%.

Park National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Park National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Park National news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.06, for a total transaction of $84,925.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $173,030.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 546 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.66, for a total value of $98,640.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,470.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark R. Ramser sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.06, for a total transaction of $84,925.24. Following the sale, the director now owns 925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $173,030.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Park National from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd.

Park National Company 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.