Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Stake Lessened by Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC decreased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,550 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABCB. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $1,151,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 0.5% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,312,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,783,000 after buying an additional 10,692 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 16.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,493 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB opened at $48.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.05. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $28.33 and a one year high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.41.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $267.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 14.60%.

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.