Towne Bank $TOWN Holdings Lessened by MBL Wealth LLC

MBL Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,771 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 34,357 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC’s holdings in Towne Bank were worth $3,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of Towne Bank by 471.9% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 64,597 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,341,000 after buying an additional 53,302 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. acquired a new stake in Towne Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $51,116,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Towne Bank by 1.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,399,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $148,114,000 after acquiring an additional 59,267 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Towne Bank in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,429,000. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new position in Towne Bank in the second quarter worth approximately $5,233,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TOWN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Towne Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Towne Bank from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Towne Bank has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.50.

Towne Bank Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $36.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Towne Bank has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $39.03.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). Towne Bank had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 25.64%. The firm had revenue of $245.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.33 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Towne Bank will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Towne Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 25th. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.46%.

About Towne Bank

TowneBank is a financial services company headquartered in coastal Virginia. Founded in 1999, the company operates as a community-focused banking organization serving individuals, families and businesses in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Through its banking operations, TowneBank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgages, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and other traditional financial products. Its business banking services support companies with commercial real estate financing, business loans, treasury management and related banking needs.

Beyond traditional banking, TowneBank provides services through affiliated businesses in areas that include mortgage lending, insurance, wealth management, real estate brokerage and property management.