JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stock Position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 202,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,363 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Peapack-Gladstone Financial were worth $6,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $3,590,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 937,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,037,000 after buying an additional 62,803 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 339,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,870,000 after buying an additional 35,159 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 349,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,199,000 after buying an additional 25,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 781,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,046,000 after acquiring an additional 17,220 shares during the last quarter. 72.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PGC stock opened at $26.09 on Friday. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $20.30 and a 52-week high of $37.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.08 million, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.82.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.07. Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 8.11%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gregory Martin Smith sold 17,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $563,374.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,489.15. This represents a 98.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.91, for a total value of $578,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,453.73. This trade represents a 31.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 57,633 shares of company stock worth $1,716,024. 7.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.