Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,504,758 shares of the bank's stock after selling 42,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.18% of Ameris Bancorp worth $93,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,596,000 after acquiring an additional 79,060 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted 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 valued at $8,735,000 after purchasing an additional 72,599 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 135.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,194 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,187,000 after buying an additional 66,287 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 208.0% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 83,393 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,203,000 after purchasing an additional 56,320 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank's stock worth $78,829,000 after buying an additional 55,473 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.
ABCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.17.
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Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $61.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $44.00 and a 52-week high of $74.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.03.
Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $290.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.
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.
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