Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC) Shares Acquired by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC - Free Report) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,417 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.27% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial worth $1,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 507.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 4,930 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PGC shares. Raymond James started coverage on Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peapack-Gladstone Financial news, Director F Duffield Meyercord acquired 6,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.44 per share, with a total value of $179,627.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 140,372 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,179.68. The trade was a 4.71% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.91, for a total value of $578,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,263,453.73. This represents a 31.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,152,650 in the last three months. 7.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Stock Down 0.2%

PGC traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $27.69. 9,460 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 98,415. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $20.30 and a twelve month high of $37.88. The company has a market cap of $491.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.44.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $64.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.07 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial's payout ratio is 11.11%.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

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.