PGC's Torchlight sells down Heartland stake

Pyne Gould Corp subsidiary Torchlight Securities sold down its stake in lender Heartland New Zealand for $4.9 million in an on-market sale.

The Torchlight unit, which holds Pyne Gould's shares in Heartland and PGG Wrightson, sold 9.4 million shares, or 2.4 per cent of the financial services firm, according to a substantial shareholder's notice.

The sale takes Torchlight's stake in Heartland down to 9.8 per cent from 12.2 per cent.

The shares sold at 52c apiece, according to NZX data.

Heartland is rated "out-perform", according to a consensus of two analysts compiled by Reuters, with a target price of 60c.

In March, Pyne Gould cut its stake in Wrightson to 7 per cent, at the same time investing in Heartland by the same amount.

Earlier this month, the Financial Markets Authority said it was looking into Pyne Gould's related party transactions, which along with complaints about the wealth manager's governance, prompted auditor KPMG to quit its role with the company a week after managing director John Duncan unexpectedly stepped down.