Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO Stock Holdings Trimmed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. by 26.0%, now holding approximately 0.30% of the company, valued at $3.1 million.
• Peoples Bancorp's stock has received a rating upgrade from "sell" to "hold" along with a price target increase to $33.00 by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41, which translates to an annualized yield of 5.4% and a payout ratio of 56.16%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 26.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,401 shares of the bank's stock after selling 37,074 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Peoples Bancorp worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $62,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 1,426.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,610 shares of the bank's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 86.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the bank's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. 60.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBO traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $30.29. The company had a trading volume of 34,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,808. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $30.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.72. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.21 and a fifty-two week high of $37.07.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $115.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $113.20 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PEBO. Wall Street Zen raised Peoples Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total value of $30,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,093.90. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith acquired 1,060 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.27 per share, with a total value of $32,086.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $211,859.73. This trade represents a 17.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.