Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $14.12 Million in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 414,636 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $14,122,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in TowneBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new position in TowneBank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in TowneBank by 258.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in TowneBank during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TOWN shares. Stephens reiterated 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 shares of TowneBank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, April 4th.

TowneBank Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of TowneBank stock opened at $31.29 on Tuesday. TowneBank has a 12-month low of $25.70 and a 12-month high of $38.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.08 and its 200-day moving average is $34.63.

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

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. TowneBank’s payout ratio is currently 46.51%.

About TowneBank

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.