Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 821,554 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,216 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 1.19% of Ameris Bancorp worth $51,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,861,000 after purchasing an additional 12,054 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after acquiring an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 135.5% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,187,000 after acquiring an additional 66,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $233,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $66.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.55. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $44.22 and a 12-month high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 15.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ABCB shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

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.