Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 152,283 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,683 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina were worth $4,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 390.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 6,211 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter valued at $296,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 18,688 shares of the bank’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. 43.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Trading Up 2.2%

PEBK stock opened at $29.07 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.74 and a 52-week high of $33.31. The firm has a market cap of $158.69 million, a P/E ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.63.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 12.85%. The business had revenue of $20.47 million for the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.23%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Profile

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards.