Nuveen Asset Management LLC Buys 65,612 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 55.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 184,074 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 65,612 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.52% of Peoples Bancorp worth $5,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 28.2% in 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 758,215 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,028,000 after buying an additional 79,818 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,464,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,414,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of PEBO traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.17. 110,408 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,573. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.18. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.21 and a twelve month high of $37.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.69 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 business had revenue of $113.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is an increase from Peoples Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peoples Bancorp news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,717.20. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEBO has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens dropped 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 research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.