Deutsche Bank AG Increases Stock Holdings in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,621 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 20,031 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.08% of TowneBank worth $2,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TOWN. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in TowneBank in the fourth quarter valued at $22,894,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank during the fourth quarter worth about $14,122,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in TowneBank by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344,673 shares of the bank's stock valued at $147,980,000 after acquiring an additional 210,521 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. purchased a new stake in TowneBank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,746,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TowneBank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TOWN. Hovde Group boosted their target price on TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of TowneBank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

TowneBank Price Performance

Shares of TOWN stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $34.35. 11,574 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,991. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $33.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.66. TowneBank has a 1-year low of $25.70 and a 1-year high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The firm had revenue of $190.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.29 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from TowneBank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. TowneBank's payout ratio is presently 45.76%.

About TowneBank

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.