Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 451,965 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 700,792 shares of the bank's stock after selling 451,965 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 1.01% of Ameris Bancorp worth $43,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the bank's stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,359 shares of the bank's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ABCB stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.39. 196,745 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,074. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.00 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $65.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.77. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.17.

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.