Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $14.12 Million Investment in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 414,636 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $14,122,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.55% of TowneBank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in TowneBank by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 30,112 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 50,929 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,858 shares of the bank's stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Stock Performance

Shares of TOWN traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.47. The company had a trading volume of 555,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,535. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $35.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.88. TowneBank has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. TowneBank's payout ratio is 46.51%.

TowneBank Company 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.