LPL Financial LLC Has $1.62 Million Position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,447 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,822 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of TowneBank worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in TowneBank in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in TowneBank by 258.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in TowneBank by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,858 shares of the bank's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in TowneBank by 137.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the bank's stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TOWN shares. Hovde Group raised shares of TowneBank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Stock Up 2.8 %

TowneBank stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.16. 232,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,481. TowneBank has a 52 week low of $25.70 and a 52 week high of $38.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.62.

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

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

About TowneBank

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.