Montag A & Associates Inc. Sells 358 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Montag A & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,163 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $235,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.07. 242,211 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,245. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.86. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $28.39 and a one year high of $53.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.04.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $267.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.05 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 18.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 14.60%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Profile

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.