Franklin Resources Inc. Invests $390,000 in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,229 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 55,473 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,401,000 after acquiring an additional 10,256 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,405,000 after acquiring an additional 12,216 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,385,000 after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ABCB. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price target (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.43.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $53.10 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.30 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.87.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Profile

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.