Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 338,569 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,101 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.95% of Peoples Bancorp worth $10,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Peoples Bancorp by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,304 shares of the bank’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position 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. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 815.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

Peoples Bancorp stock opened at $30.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.62. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $37.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.01 and a 200-day moving average of $31.53.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $113.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.76 million. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 11.07%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 52.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.50 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $30,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,717.20. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.41% of the company’s stock.

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.