Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 693 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,437 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 693 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,733,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,994,000 after acquiring an additional 12,449 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 634,249 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,097,000 after purchasing an additional 50,701 shares during the period. Peoples Bank OH grew its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Peoples Bank OH now owns 609,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,721 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 15.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 273,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,940,000 after purchasing an additional 35,603 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 5.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 258,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after buying an additional 13,227 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $29.98 on Tuesday. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.05 and a twelve month high of $34.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.76.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PEBO shares. Hovde Group started coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peoples Bancorp news, CEO Tyler J. Wilcox sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $250,095.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 40,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,101.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Peoples Bancorp Profile

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.