Nuveen Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC) by 41.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,220 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.28% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 507.2% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 4,930 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PGC opened at $27.86 on Wednesday. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $20.30 and a 52 week high of $37.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $494.12 million, a PE ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 0.87.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $64.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.07 million. Equities analysts predict that Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s payout ratio is 11.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Peapack-Gladstone Financial news, Director F Duffield Meyercord purchased 6,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.44 per share, for a total transaction of $179,627.04. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 140,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,179.68. This trade represents a 4.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.91, for a total transaction of $578,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,453.73. This represents a 31.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $1,152,650. Corporate insiders own 7.63% of the company’s stock.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.