State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,551 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,834 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $233,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 809,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,495,000 after purchasing an additional 19,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB stock opened at $63.29 on Tuesday. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.94. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.36%.

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.