Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Bought by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 41.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,237 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 12,989 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.06% of Ameris Bancorp worth $2,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank's stock worth $78,829,000 after buying an additional 55,473 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,570,000 after buying an additional 223,805 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,401,000 after buying an additional 10,256 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,405,000 after buying an additional 12,216 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,385,000 after buying an additional 19,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies boosted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $71.00 price target (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.29.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 3.6 %

Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,006,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 392,474. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $45.89 and a 52-week high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.85 and a 200 day moving average of $62.61.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

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.