Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Shares Purchased by Fourthstone LLC

Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK - Free Report) by 203.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,243 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 41,069 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC owned 1.12% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina worth $1,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 390.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank's stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 6,211 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,380 shares of the bank's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. 43.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of PEBK stock traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.55. 428 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,027. The firm has a market cap of $144.91 million, a PE ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.74 and a 1 year high of $33.31. The company's 50 day moving average is $27.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.42.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $20.47 million for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 12.85% and a net margin of 15.08%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.85%.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards.