Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in Park National Co. $PRK

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,652,555 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,157 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Park National worth $268,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Park National in the 3rd quarter valued at $665,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Park National by 1.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 347,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,139,000 after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Park National in the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Park National by 12.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,066,000 after buying an additional 6,074 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Park National during the second quarter worth about $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on PRK shares. Zacks Research raised Park National from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Park National from $176.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.50.

Park National Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of PRK stock opened at $164.53 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $164.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Park National Co. has a 1-year low of $137.97 and a 1-year high of $179.48.

Park National Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Park National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.57%.

Park National Company Profile

Park National Corporation is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary, The Park National Bank, provides a full suite of commercial and personal banking services. The company’s main business activities include deposit-taking, commercial and industrial lending, mortgage originations and trust and wealth management services. Park National aims to serve the financial needs of businesses, professionals, families and nonprofit organizations across its regional footprint.

Through its subsidiary banks, Park National offers traditional deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside loan products including commercial real estate loans, agricultural lending, equipment financing and consumer installment loans.