Bayview Asset Management LLC Makes New $1.84 Million Investment in Towne Bank $TOWN

Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 55,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,835,000. Towne Bank makes up about 0.4% of Bayview Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TOWN. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 51,733 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 68,857 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,219 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,596 shares of the bank’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

Towne Bank Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of TOWN stock opened at $35.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.70. Towne Bank has a one year low of $31.91 and a one year high of $37.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The business had revenue of $247.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.02 million. Towne Bank had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Towne Bank will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Towne Bank’s payout ratio is 54.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Towne Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Towne Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on Towne Bank from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Towne Bank in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

About Towne Bank

TowneBank is a Virginia‐based financial services company organized as a bank holding company. Its primary subsidiary, TowneBank, operates a network of community banking offices and mortgage production facilities. The company offers a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking solutions, including deposit accounts, lending products, treasury management, and private banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and middle‐market corporations.

In addition to traditional banking, TowneBank provides specialty services through affiliated subsidiaries.