Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 202 Shares of Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Park National Co. (NYSE:PRK) by 3.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Park National were worth $713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Park National by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Park National by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 12,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Park National by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Park National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Spreng Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Park National by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 62.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Park National Stock Performance

PRK stock opened at $175.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 0.71. Park National Co. has a 12-month low of $91.78 and a 12-month high of $190.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.91.

Park National (NYSE:PRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $126.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Park National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Park National

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

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.