The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 24,571 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 453,642 shares of the bank's stock after selling 24,571 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.66% of Ameris Bancorp worth $28,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% in the third 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% during the 2nd 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 grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,359 shares of the bank's stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded down $0.61 on Friday, hitting $70.28. The company had a trading volume of 269,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 364,260. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $42.25 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $65.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $290.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 12.50%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.