Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Holdings in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,761 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,094 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in TowneBank were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in TowneBank by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685,643 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,738,000 after purchasing an additional 18,929 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of TowneBank by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,758,000 after buying an additional 68,479 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in TowneBank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $357,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in TowneBank by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 74,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 7,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in TowneBank by 1.1% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 101,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of TowneBank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

TowneBank Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $34.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.91. TowneBank has a 52-week low of $25.70 and a 52-week high of $38.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.97.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $258.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.80 million. TowneBank had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 7.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.25%.

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.