ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.05% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $2,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4,880.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 138.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the second quarter worth about $84,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 8.7% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ServisFirst Bancshares

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SFBS opened at $95.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $88.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.44. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.04 and a 52 week high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 32.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SFBS shares. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides various banking services to individual and corporate customers. It accepts demand, time, savings, and other deposits; checking, money market, and IRA accounts; and certificates of deposit. The company's loan products include commercial lending products, including seasonal, bridge, and term loans for working capital, expansion of the business, acquisition of property, and plant and equipment, as well as commercial lines of credit; commercial real estate loans, construction and development loans, and residential real estate loans; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans.