Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) EVP Sells $32,015.42 in Stock

Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) EVP Michael Ryan Kirkham sold 986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.47, for a total transaction of $32,015.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,903.83. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

PEBO stock remained flat at $32.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. 4,102 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 296,878. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.69. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.21 and a 1-year high of $34.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $119.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.97 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 17.27%. As a group, analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peoples Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEBO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Peoples Bancorp by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,080,137 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,467,000 after purchasing an additional 48,166 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 8.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 990,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,718,000 after buying an additional 75,231 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 926,866 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,309,000 after buying an additional 26,786 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 1.3% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 612,568 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,708,000 after buying an additional 8,058 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 472,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,188,000 after acquiring an additional 72,392 shares during the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PEBO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. DA Davidson set a $35.00 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.63.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Through its subsidiary Peoples Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking services designed to serve individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Its deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and digital banking platforms that enable secure online and mobile access.

On the lending side, Peoples Bancorp offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction and agricultural lending, as well as residential mortgage products.