Swiss National Bank Acquires 3,500 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,800 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $2,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 172.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,094 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 223.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $297,000. 60.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

PEBO opened at $30.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.75. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.10 and a 1 year high of $37.07.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 11.07%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is 48.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.83, for a total value of $32,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 26,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,101.38. This trade represents a 3.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $94,050. Insiders own 3.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $37.50 target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.90.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc operates as the holding company for Peoples Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. The company accepts various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and governmental deposits; and provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction, finance, residential real estate, and consumer indirect and direct loans, as well as home equity lines of credit and overdrafts.