Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes Position in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a stake of 11,359 shares in Towne Bank valued at approximately $388,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the bank.
• Towne Bank recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.27 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.1%.
• Analysts have upgraded Towne Bank's rating, with Hovde Group increasing its price target from $39 to $41, while several institutional investors increased their holdings during recent quarters.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,359 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Towne Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,894,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Towne Bank by 19.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,584,688 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,370,000 after purchasing an additional 429,487 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Towne Bank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,122,000. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Towne Bank in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,908,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Towne Bank by 1,265.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 243,773 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,303,000 after purchasing an additional 225,921 shares during the period. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Towne Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Towne Bank from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

Towne Bank Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of TOWN stock opened at $34.49 on Monday. Towne Bank has a 12 month low of $29.43 and a 12 month high of $38.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.50.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $207.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.18 million. Towne Bank had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 16.49%. Towne Bank's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Towne Bank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from Towne Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Towne Bank's payout ratio is presently 46.96%.

Towne Bank 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.

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