Azora Capital LP Sells 501,322 Shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. $PNFP

Azora Capital LP lessened its stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) by 50.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 497,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 501,322 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners makes up approximately 2.5% of Azora Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Azora Capital LP owned 0.64% of Pinnacle Financial Partners worth $54,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Pinnacle Financial Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $113,461,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in the first quarter worth about $77,207,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,879,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in Pinnacle Financial Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,932,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Pinnacle Financial Partners by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 446,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,302,000 after buying an additional 99,495 shares during the period. 87.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $125.00 to $95.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $113.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners from $104.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $122.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.83.

Insider Activity

In other Pinnacle Financial Partners news, Chairman Robert A. Mccabe, Jr. sold 6,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total transaction of $630,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 202,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,832,965. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Kennedy Thompson bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $87.63 per share, for a total transaction of $438,150.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 33,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,924,388.36. This represents a 17.62% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Price Performance

PNFP stock opened at $96.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.50. Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.57 and a 52-week high of $127.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.06.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.22. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 19.17%.The company had revenue of $544.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s payout ratio is presently 12.20%.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Profile

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.