Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 179,657 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,485,294 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 179,657 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp were worth $47,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEBO. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Peoples Bancorp by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 42.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,304 shares of the bank’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 172.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,094 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Peoples Bancorp by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $27.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $973.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 0.63. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.21 and a 52 week high of $37.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.20 and a 200 day moving average of $31.93.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 18.90%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.34%.

Insider Transactions at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of Peoples Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.83, for a total value of $32,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,686 shares in the company, valued at $876,101.38. This trade represents a 3.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $94,050. Insiders own 3.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PEBO. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $37.50 target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Peoples Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.38.

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.