Live Oak Private Wealth LLC Invests $651,000 in Towne Bank $TOWN

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,327 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

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

Towne Bank Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ TOWN opened at $35.98 on Thursday. Towne Bank has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $37.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. Towne Bank’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Towne Bank

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.