Northern Trust Corp Purchases 34,591 Shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 688,871 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 34,591 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.92% of TowneBank worth $23,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of TowneBank by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,344,673 shares of the bank's stock valued at $147,980,000 after purchasing an additional 210,521 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in TowneBank by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,107 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,559,000 after acquiring an additional 4,489 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in TowneBank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $655,000. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in TowneBank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,619 shares of the bank's stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company's stock.

TowneBank Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of TowneBank stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 251,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,983. TowneBank has a 52-week low of $25.70 and a 52-week high of $38.28. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50-day moving average is $33.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.63.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $190.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from TowneBank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TOWN. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of TowneBank in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.