Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 714,850 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 46,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.95% of TowneBank worth $24,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of TowneBank by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 167,173 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,694,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 109,607 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,733,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of TowneBank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 69,269 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 19,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in TowneBank by 234.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,980 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 25,219 shares during the period. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TOWN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group raised TowneBank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, April 4th.

TowneBank Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of TOWN stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.80. 279,521 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,805. The firm's 50-day moving average is $34.30 and its 200 day moving average is $34.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 0.79. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 15.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.51%.

TowneBank 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.