Vanguard Group Inc. Has $254.84 Million Stock Position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,482,171 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,970 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of TowneBank worth $254,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of TowneBank in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new position in shares of TowneBank during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in TowneBank by 258.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in TowneBank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

TowneBank Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $30.61 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.82. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.79. TowneBank has a 12 month low of $25.70 and a 12 month high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 7.77%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that TowneBank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TOWN shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group raised TowneBank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday.

TowneBank Company 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.