Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 488,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,531 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Peoples Financial Services were worth $24,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 304.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 9,239 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Peoples Financial Services by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 12,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 4,627 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Peoples Financial Services by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Peoples Financial Services by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard S. Lochen, Jr. purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.12 per share, for a total transaction of $47,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 17,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,118.48. This trade represents a 6.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Peoples Financial Services Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PFIS opened at $42.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.57 million, a P/E ratio of 37.23 and a beta of 0.57. Peoples Financial Services Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.26 and a 1-year high of $59.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Peoples Financial Services (NASDAQ:PFIS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.17). Peoples Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 3.70%. As a group, research analysts expect that Peoples Financial Services Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Financial Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.6175 dividend. This represents a $2.47 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Peoples Financial Services’s payout ratio is 218.58%.

Peoples Financial Services Profile

Peoples Financial Services Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company that provides various commercial and retail banking services. The company accepts money market, negotiable order of withdrawal, savings, individual retirement, demand deposit, and certificates of deposit accounts.