Tull Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Tull Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,786 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000. TowneBank makes up approximately 0.2% of Tull Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 7,668.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,974,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,448 shares in the last quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new position in shares of TowneBank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,746,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 537,845 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,319,000 after purchasing an additional 88,277 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its position in TowneBank by 192.3% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 116,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,856,000 after acquiring an additional 76,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in TowneBank by 90.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,914 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,758,000 after acquiring an additional 68,479 shares during the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TowneBank Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $35.88 on Tuesday. TowneBank has a 52 week low of $25.70 and a 52 week high of $38.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.10 and a 200 day moving average of $34.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.93.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 7.77%. As a group, analysts expect that TowneBank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Profile

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.