The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $554,000 Position in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,493 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 484 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 138.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,096 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 36,684 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $2,122,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $394,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 316.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 61,645 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,855,000 after buying an additional 46,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 27,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 10,415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.50 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEBO opened at $30.82 on Friday. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.21 and a 1 year high of $37.07. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.53.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.04). Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 18.90%. The firm had revenue of $113.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.06%.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $30,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,717.20. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Peoples Bancorp Company 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.