Foundry Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 72,261 Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 72,261 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,521,000. Foundry Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Ameris Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABCB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.43.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB traded down $4.08 on Thursday, hitting $50.82. The stock had a trading volume of 96,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,441. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.41 and a 200-day moving average of $63.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $44.23 and a 52-week high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.87.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 15.36%.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.