Swiss National Bank Has $8.07 Million Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,044 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Ameris Bancorp worth $8,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $552,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $3,078,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 177.4% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 26,053 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,630,000 after purchasing an additional 16,662 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 188.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 33,579 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 21,957 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABCB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $57.69 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.23 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.94.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.