Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Acquired by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 680,198 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 65,855 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.98% of Ameris Bancorp worth $42,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $48,380,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the 4th 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. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $158,490,000 after acquiring an additional 208,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $10,856,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 136.2% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 196,964 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,324,000 after acquiring an additional 113,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.0%

ABCB stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $63.27. 119,032 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,777. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $45.89 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.39. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.91.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. The firm had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James cut their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler Companies lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.43.

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.