Northern Trust Corp Raises Stock Position in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 182,808 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,505 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Park National were worth $31,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PRK. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Park National by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Park National in the fourth quarter worth approximately $411,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Park National by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Park National by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 495,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,006,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Park National by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 160,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,551,000 after acquiring an additional 70,170 shares during the period. 62.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PRK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Park National from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Park National in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $185.50 price target for the company.

Park National Stock Performance

PRK opened at $162.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.79. Park National Co. has a 1-year low of $131.93 and a 1-year high of $207.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.18. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Park National’s payout ratio is presently 43.94%.

About Park National

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.