Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 49,970 Shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,482,171 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 49,970 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.98% of TowneBank worth $254,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 137.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the bank's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of TowneBank by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,712 shares of the bank's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 4,931 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of TowneBank in the 3rd quarter worth about $73,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in TowneBank by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 101,330 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in TowneBank by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 74,965 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 7,137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of TowneBank in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group raised TowneBank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th.

TowneBank Price Performance

Shares of TowneBank stock traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.63. 424,229 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,485. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.70. TowneBank has a 52 week low of $25.70 and a 52 week high of $38.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.79.

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

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio 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.