Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 270,470 Shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,621,527 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 270,470 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.81% of Atlantic Union Bankshares worth $62,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 78.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 88.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 77.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 110.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.58% of the company’s stock.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AUB opened at $40.85 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.91. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a 12-month low of $30.43 and a 12-month high of $44.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.01. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $358.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $226.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Atlantic Union Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 56.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AUB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James decreased their target price on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atlantic Union Bankshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

About Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank that provides banking and related financial products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time deposit, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; and other depository services.