Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $7.93 Million in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 247,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,928,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 1.41% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $3,590,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 937,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,037,000 after acquiring an additional 62,803 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 202,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,502,000 after acquiring an additional 55,363 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 339,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,870,000 after purchasing an additional 35,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 487.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 41,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 34,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.58, for a total transaction of $142,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,409 shares in the company, valued at $1,011,989.22. This trade represents a 12.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director F Duffield Meyercord purchased 6,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.44 per share, for a total transaction of $179,627.04. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 140,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,992,179.68. This trade represents a 4.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,152,650 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.48. 88,714 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 99,200. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $20.30 and a 52-week high of $37.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.63. The firm has a market cap of $501.05 million, a P/E ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $64.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.07 million. Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 8.11%. On average, 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial's payout ratio is 11.11%.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Company Profile

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.