Bayview Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Towne Bank $TOWN

Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 55,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,835,000. Towne Bank makes up approximately 0.4% of Bayview Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Bayview Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of Towne Bank as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TOWN. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 32.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 8,538 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after buying an additional 1,837 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 56.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 381,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,052,000 after buying an additional 137,988 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 4.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,392,000 after buying an additional 7,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 1,220.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 157,411 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,382,000 after buying an additional 145,494 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on TOWN. Zacks Research downgraded Towne Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Towne Bank in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on Towne Bank from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Towne Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Towne Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ TOWN opened at $35.67 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Towne Bank has a one year low of $31.91 and a one year high of $37.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.70.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. Towne Bank had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 13.51%.The company had revenue of $247.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Towne Bank will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Towne Bank’s payout ratio is presently 54.55%.

Towne Bank Company Profile

TowneBank is a Virginia‐based financial services company organized as a bank holding company. Its primary subsidiary, TowneBank, operates a network of community banking offices and mortgage production facilities. The company offers a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking solutions, including deposit accounts, lending products, treasury management, and private banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and middle‐market corporations.

In addition to traditional banking, TowneBank provides specialty services through affiliated subsidiaries.