Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 379,934 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 14,898 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.55% of Ameris Bancorp worth $23,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ABCB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.64. 586,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 403,105. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $45.89 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 14.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.