Banc Funds Co. LLC Reduces Holdings in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation $PGC

Banc Funds Co. LLC reduced its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PGC) by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 315,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 147,300 shares during the quarter. Peapack-Gladstone Financial comprises approximately 1.5% of Banc Funds Co. LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned about 1.79% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial worth $8,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 23.1% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 622.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 5,683 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 68.0% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 2,987 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the third quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 4.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Peapack-Gladstone Financial

In related news, EVP Maureen Hemhauser sold 5,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.59, for a total value of $187,630.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 7.63% of the company’s stock.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of PGC opened at $33.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $23.96 and a 12-month high of $35.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $585.91 million, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.70.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $77.67 million for the quarter. Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 5.91%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 12th. Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s payout ratio is presently 9.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PGC shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Company Profile

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation is the parent company of Peapack-Gladstone Bank, a New Jersey-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey, that trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol PGC. Through Peapack-Gladstone Bank, the company offers a broad range of deposit and lending solutions, including checking and savings accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, lines of credit and treasury management services. Clients benefit from both in-branch relationship banking and an expanding suite of digital banking tools designed to support personal and business financial needs.

Complementing its core banking operations, Peapack-Gladstone Financial provides wealth management, trust and financial planning services through its subsidiary, Peapack-Gladstone Wealth Management.