JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Position in Towne Bank $TOWN

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 330,937 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,770 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Towne Bank were worth $11,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Towne Bank by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,003,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,010,000 after buying an additional 51,028 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Towne Bank by 2,646.3% during the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,218,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,658,000 after buying an additional 1,174,406 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Towne Bank by 8.1% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 578,037 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,757,000 after acquiring an additional 43,376 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Towne Bank by 2.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 533,149 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,170 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Towne Bank by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 527,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

Towne Bank Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $33.74 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.23 and its 200 day moving average is $34.74. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.75. Towne Bank has a 52-week low of $29.43 and a 52-week high of $37.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.01). Towne Bank had a return on equity of 10.11% and a net margin of 15.12%.The firm had revenue of $221.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Towne Bank’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Towne Bank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Towne Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 49.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TOWN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Towne Bank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Towne Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

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.