Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,664,951 shares of the bank's stock after selling 200,167 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 4.68% of Peoples Bancorp worth $51,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PEBO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 850,654 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,601,000 after buying an additional 22,285 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 138.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 63,096 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 36,684 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $297,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 56,345 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 20,173 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Peoples Bancorp by 153.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 352,488 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,606,000 after purchasing an additional 213,488 shares in the last quarter. 60.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on PEBO shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, insider Matthew Edgell sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total value of $103,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,921.12. The trade was a 15.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David F. Dierker sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.36, for a total transaction of $30,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $313,618.80. This trade represents a 8.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,445 shares of company stock valued at $424,166 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEBO traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 230,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,928. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 0.77. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.74 and a 52 week high of $37.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Peoples Bancorp had a net margin of 20.16% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The business had revenue of $158.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Peoples Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 45.58%.

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.