Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,379 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,228 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.13% of Towne Bank worth $3,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Towne Bank by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the bank’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Towne Bank during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Towne Bank by 12.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 4,206 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Towne Bank in the first quarter worth approximately $590,000. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. raised its position in Towne Bank by 43.5% in the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 282,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,683,000 after acquiring an additional 85,656 shares during the period. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TOWN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Towne Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Towne Bank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Towne Bank Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ TOWN opened at $35.93 on Friday. Towne Bank has a 12 month low of $29.43 and a 12 month high of $38.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.34.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. Towne Bank had a net margin of 17.15% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $190.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Towne Bank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.76%.

About Towne Bank

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.