Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 37,074 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

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. lessened its stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 26.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,401 shares of the bank's stock after selling 37,074 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Peoples Bancorp worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the first quarter worth $62,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1,426.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,610 shares of the bank's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 86.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,060 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.27 per share, for a total transaction of $32,086.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,999 shares in the company, valued at $211,859.73. The trade was a 17.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total transaction of $30,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $750,093.90. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.41% of the company's stock.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBO traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.56. 10,180 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 153,361. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $37.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.07 and a 200-day moving average of $29.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.67.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.18). Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.88%.The firm had revenue of $115.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.20 million. On average, equities analysts expect 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 issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.