Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 329,196 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 189.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 502,690 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 329,196 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.73% of Ameris Bancorp worth $28,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,016,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $552,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 129,044 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,074,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,948 shares of the bank's stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of ABCB traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $66.23. The stock had a trading volume of 76,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,969. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $48.27 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock's 50 day moving average is $63.73 and its 200 day moving average is $61.38.

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, 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 business had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABCB. 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average 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.