Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 66,958 Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 66,958 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,122,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.19% of Peoples Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEBO. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,304 shares of the bank's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $394,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Peoples Bancorp by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 46,138 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 8,938 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Peoples Bancorp by 172.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,094 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Peoples Bancorp

In related news, Director Carol A. Schneeberger sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.83, for a total transaction of $32,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $876,101.38. This represents a 3.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock valued at $94,050. Company insiders own 3.41% of the company's stock.

Peoples Bancorp Price Performance

Peoples Bancorp stock traded down $2.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.55. 209,809 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,876. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.10 and a 12-month high of $37.07. The company has a market capitalization of $982.71 million, a P/E ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $31.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.95. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peoples Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Peoples Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $37.50 price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Peoples Bancorp from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Peoples Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.38.

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.