TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 48.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,924 shares of the bank's stock after selling 92,238 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.13% of TowneBank worth $3,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in TowneBank during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of TowneBank by 258.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 807.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in TowneBank during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TOWN. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Stock Performance

Shares of TOWN stock opened at $33.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $33.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.57. TowneBank has a one year low of $25.70 and a one year high of $38.28.

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

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.37%.

TowneBank 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.

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