Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 8,841 Shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,223 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,841 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Peoples Bancorp worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $465,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $478,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $174,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 17,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 136,825 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 20,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In other news, CEO Tyler J. Wilcox sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.01, for a total value of $250,095.21. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 40,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,101.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Peoples Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEBO opened at $30.21 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 0.76. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.05 and a 12-month high of $34.85.

Peoples Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.30%. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Peoples Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.