Vestcor Inc Sells 14,912 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Vestcor Inc lowered its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 87.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,154 shares of the bank's stock after selling 14,912 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the bank's stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,359 shares of the bank's stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.64. 502,247 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 361,802. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $66.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.65. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 1.03. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $44.00 and a 52-week 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.

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

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Ameris Bancorp Profile

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.