American Century Companies Inc. Has $86.13 Million Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,376,590 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 302,910 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $86,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,401,000 after buying an additional 10,256 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,405,000 after buying an additional 12,216 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,385,000 after acquiring an additional 19,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 728,253 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,436,000 after acquiring an additional 60,448 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price objective (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $59.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $44.23 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.97. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Ameris Bank that provides range of banking services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through five segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, SBA Division, and Premium Finance Division. The company offers commercial and retail checking, regular interest-bearing savings, money market, individual retirement, and certificates of deposit accounts.