William Blair Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 789,271 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 19,150 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $49,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ABCB. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,856,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,596,000 after purchasing an additional 79,060 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,735,000 after purchasing an additional 72,599 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,187,000 after purchasing an additional 66,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,768.5% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,292,000 after purchasing an additional 66,000 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ABCB. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $57.87 on Tuesday. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $44.23 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.37 and its 200 day moving average is $64.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 15.36%.

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.