14,800 Shares in Peoples Bancorp Inc. $PEBO Acquired by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,800 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Peoples Bancorp in the third quarter worth $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.68% of the company’s stock.

Peoples Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:PEBO opened at $39.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Peoples Bancorp Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.49 and a 1 year high of $42.29. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.93.

Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ:PEBO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.11. Peoples Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 19.17%.The company had revenue of $121.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.05 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Peoples Bancorp Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Peoples Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Peoples Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Matthew Edgell sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.27, for a total transaction of $123,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $832,952.41. The trade was a 12.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dwight Eric Smith acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.81 per share, for a total transaction of $39,810.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $408,291.36. This trade represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 3.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on PEBO shares. Piper Sandler set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Peoples Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Peoples Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

About Peoples Bancorp

Peoples Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Marietta, Ohio. Through its subsidiary Peoples Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking services designed to serve individuals, businesses and institutional clients. Its deposit products include checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit and digital banking platforms that enable secure online and mobile access.

On the lending side, Peoples Bancorp offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction and agricultural lending, as well as residential mortgage products.