Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,411 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of German American Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GABC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 202,717 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,166,000 after acquiring an additional 8,028 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 2.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 47,992 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of German American Bancorp by 303.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 29,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 22,035 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 89,942 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,179,000 after purchasing an additional 12,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of German American Bancorp by 1.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,129,575 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,930,000 after buying an additional 14,478 shares in the last quarter. 46.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

German American Bancorp Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ GABC opened at $39.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.39 and its 200-day moving average is $40.04. German American Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $30.26 and a one year high of $47.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.63.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.80 million. German American Bancorp had a net margin of 23.75% and a return on equity of 11.94%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GABC shares. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of German American Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Hovde Group raised German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of German American Bancorp from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.40.

About German American Bancorp

German American Bancorp, Inc operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market.