Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,316,126 shares of the bank's stock after selling 68,238 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.25% of Ameris Bancorp worth $270,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,570,000 after buying an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank's stock valued at $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,385,000 after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 158.2% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 40,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 24,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler Companies boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Two research 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, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of ABCB traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.98. 211,853 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,548. 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 has a 1 year low of $45.89 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50-day moving average price is $57.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.68.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.