Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $132,000 Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 836.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,117 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $78,829,000 after buying an additional 55,473 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,401,000 after acquiring an additional 10,256 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,405,000 after purchasing an additional 12,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,385,000 after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $52.44 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.01 and a 200-day moving average of $62.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $45.89 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.87.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 15.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABCB. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.43.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.