Millennium Management LLC Cuts Stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 33.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 511,914 shares of the bank's stock after selling 261,491 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.74% of Ameris Bancorp worth $32,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 158.2% during the 4th 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. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $1,195,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.9%

ABCB stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.64. The company had a trading volume of 586,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,105. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $45.89 and a 52-week high of $74.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 14.81%.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.