Private Management Group Inc. Sells 501,610 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

Private Management Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,859 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 501,610 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $128,113,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,270,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,619,000 after purchasing an additional 21,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $10,181,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 28.5% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 259,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after purchasing an additional 57,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 56.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 201,967 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,639,000 after purchasing an additional 72,870 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, EVP Mark Augenstein sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.88, for a total value of $75,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $942,643.80. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Hugh Donlon sold 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.12, for a total value of $101,018.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,073.80. The trade was a 12.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PEBO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 0.7%

Peoples Bancorp stock opened at $38.53 on Wednesday. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.23 and a fifty-two week high of $42.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The bank reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $124.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.40 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 11.08%. Research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 49.56%.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, Peoples Bank, provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses and local organizations. The company offers deposit accounts, loans, payment services and other banking products, along with services such as wealth management, insurance and equipment financing. Its branches and service areas extend across Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. Peoples traces its history to 1902, when it was established in Marietta.