Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 693 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,437 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEBO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Peoples Bancorp by 46.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 214.9% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 7,292 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Tyler J. Wilcox sold 8,621 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $250,095.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 40,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,101.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PEBO. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $36.00) on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.40.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEBO opened at $29.98 on Tuesday. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.05 and a 52-week high of $34.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.76.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.34%. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.90%.

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.