Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 75,182 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. by 16.6%, now owning approximately $11.17 million worth of shares after selling 75,182 during the first quarter.
• GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 1,426.3%, acquiring 2,610 shares, contributing to a shift in institutional ownership, which stands at 60.68%.
• Peoples Bancorp reported earnings per share of $0.60 for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, representing a 5.3% dividend yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its holdings in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 16.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,606 shares of the bank's stock after selling 75,182 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.06% of Peoples Bancorp worth $11,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 35,094 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,396 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,122,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 68,716 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 134,700 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,269,000 after acquiring an additional 9,388 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,790 shares of the bank's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, Director Dwight Eric Smith purchased 1,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.27 per share, with a total value of $32,086.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $211,859.73. This trade represents a 17.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.76, for a total transaction of $31,760.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,330 shares in the company, valued at $804,480.80. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Peoples Bancorp stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.79. 110,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 146,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.67. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.21 and a 12 month high of $37.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $30.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.85.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $115.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.20 million. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.88%. Equities research analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 56.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PEBO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Peoples Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.25.

Peoples Bancorp Company 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.