6,682 Shares in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,682 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 15.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 273,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,940,000 after acquiring an additional 35,603 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Peoples Bancorp by 220.5% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 76,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 52,972 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,733,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,994,000 after purchasing an additional 12,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,632 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,796 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PEBO opened at $29.96 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.50 and a 200-day moving average of $29.59. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.05 and a 52-week high of $34.85.

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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.34%. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.90%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, CEO Tyler J. Wilcox sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total transaction of $250,095.21. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 40,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,101.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Peoples Bancorp

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.