Northern Trust Corp Cuts Stock Position in Towne Bank $TOWN

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Towne Bank by 2.7%, selling 18,669 shares and now holding approximately 670,202 shares valued at $22.9 million.
• Towne Bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, which will be paid on October 10th, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.9%.
• The bank's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.81, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues increasing 18.6% year-over-year.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 670,202 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,669 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.89% of Towne Bank worth $22,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TOWN. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Towne Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $22,894,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Towne Bank during the first quarter valued at about $15,584,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Towne Bank by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,688 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,370,000 after buying an additional 429,487 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Towne Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,908,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Towne Bank by 1,265.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 243,773 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,303,000 after purchasing an additional 225,921 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.99% of the company's stock.

Towne Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN traded down $0.52 on Friday, reaching $36.05. 100,056 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 265,796. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business's 50-day moving average is $35.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.57. Towne Bank has a fifty-two week low of $29.43 and a fifty-two week high of $38.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.87.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $207.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.18 million. Towne Bank had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Towne Bank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Towne Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. Towne Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TOWN shares. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Towne Bank from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Towne Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Towne Bank has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.67.

Towne Bank Company Profile

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.