124,547 Shares in Towne Bank $TOWN Acquired by Systematic Financial Management LP

Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 124,547 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,194,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Towne Bank by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,082,514 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $269,713,000 after purchasing an additional 443,345 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 1.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,399,012 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,114,000 after purchasing an additional 59,267 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Towne Bank by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,138,398 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,931,000 after buying an additional 21,482 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Towne Bank by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,811,213 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,448,000 after buying an additional 12,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new stake in Towne Bank during the first quarter valued at $51,116,000. 55.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Towne Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $36.65 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.69. Towne Bank has a one year low of $31.91 and a one year high of $37.86. 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 (NASDAQ:TOWN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). Towne Bank had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The company had revenue of $245.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.33 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Towne Bank will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. Towne Bank’s payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on TOWN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Towne Bank in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised Towne Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Hovde Group lowered their price target on Towne Bank from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Towne Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Towne Bank currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Towne Bank 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.