State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Grows Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 94.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,637 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,842 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $2,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,380,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $10,856,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,735,000 after acquiring an additional 72,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $4,521,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABCB. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler Companies increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $56.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $45.89 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Ameris Bank that provides range of banking services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through five segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, SBA Division, and Premium Finance Division. The company offers commercial and retail checking, regular interest-bearing savings, money market, individual retirement, and certificates of deposit accounts.