German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,665 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of German American Bancorp worth $670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of German American Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $99,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in German American Bancorp by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in German American Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $362,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of German American Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of German American Bancorp by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 5,377 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at German American Bancorp

In other German American Bancorp news, Director Diane B. Medley bought 1,000 shares of German American Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.21 per share, for a total transaction of $39,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,557.70. This trade represents a 22.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,083 shares of company stock worth $42,607. Insiders own 4.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, German American Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.40.

German American Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:GABC opened at $38.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. German American Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $31.06 and a one year high of $47.08.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 23.69%. Equities research analysts expect that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. German American Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 41.13%.

German American Bancorp Company Profile

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.