Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation $PGC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has decreased its stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PGC) by 1.9%, selling 17,410 shares in the first quarter, bringing its ownership to approximately 5.23% worth $26.12 million.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for PGC, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowering their target from $38.00 to $35.00 and a mix of ratings, including one Strong Buy and two Buy ratings.
• Peapack-Gladstone Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.45, missing analysts' estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PGC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 919,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,410 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.23% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial worth $26,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGC. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $7,928,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 19.7% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 592,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,832,000 after buying an additional 97,349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 34,819 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 344.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,237,000 after buying an additional 33,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 654,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,975,000 after buying an additional 22,805 shares in the last quarter. 72.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy acquired 3,720 shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.24 per share, with a total value of $97,612.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 39,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,026,744.96. This represents a 10.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Peapack-Gladstone Financial currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.33.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Price Performance

PGC traded up $0.11 on Monday, reaching $29.01. The company had a trading volume of 79,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 97,718. The company has a market cap of $511.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.92. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $23.96 and a 52-week high of $37.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.16). Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 7.62%.The business had revenue of $69.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.77 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. Peapack-Gladstone Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.93%.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial 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.