Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,154 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 4.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 6.2% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the first quarter worth $30,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the third quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 163,408 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in a report on Monday, January 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

NASDAQ PEBK opened at $27.75 on Friday. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a one year low of $16.35 and a one year high of $30.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.02 and a 200 day moving average of $26.71. The company has a market capitalization of $151.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $19.40 million during the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s payout ratio is 27.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James S. Abernethy sold 3,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $73,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 83,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,050,797. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 16.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Profile

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards.