Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 813 Shares of German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) by 821.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 912 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in German American Bancorp were worth $37,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in German American Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in German American Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in German American Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $318,000. Institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

German American Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GABC opened at $37.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.61. German American Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.06 and a 52-week high of $47.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 23.69% and a return on equity of 12.04%. Analysts expect that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. This is a positive change from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 41.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diane B. Medley acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.21 per share, for a total transaction of $39,210.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,370 shares in the company, valued at $210,557.70. The trade was a 22.88 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 1,090 shares of company stock valued at $42,697. 6.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GABC. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, German American Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.40.

About German American Bancorp

German American Bancorp, Inc operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market.