Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,504 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 10,796 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.08% of Ameris Bancorp worth $3,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ABCB. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $71.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:ABCB traded down $1.22 on Friday, reaching $57.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 270,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,862. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.02. 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 12-month low of $44.23 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.89.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company 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.