Blue Trust Inc. Grows Position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 258.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,434 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in TowneBank were worth $47,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in TowneBank during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of TowneBank in the third quarter valued at approximately $100,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 137.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in TowneBank during the third quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

TowneBank Stock Down 1.3 %

TOWN opened at $36.80 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.21. TowneBank has a twelve month low of $25.70 and a twelve month high of $38.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.93.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 15.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank 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.