Millennium Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Millennium Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 88.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,138 shares of the bank's stock after selling 73,214 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 451,788 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,317,000 after buying an additional 99,300 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 758,215 shares of the bank's stock worth $24,028,000 after acquiring an additional 79,818 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Peoples Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,464,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,414,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $2,122,000. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEBO traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.17. The stock had a trading volume of 149,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,703. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $37.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.91.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $113.00 million for 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 business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.62%. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Peoples Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 52.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Peoples Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $37.50 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.00.

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.