ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Stake Raised by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,206 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.21% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $9,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SFBS. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 857,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,684,000 after acquiring an additional 442,225 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $19,639,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 947,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,280,000 after buying an additional 112,521 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,466,000 after buying an additional 108,088 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,377,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $191,241,000 after buying an additional 60,683 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SFBS opened at $81.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.45 and its 200-day moving average is $87.27. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.11 and a 12-month high of $101.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.91.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 23.16%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,224.48. The trade was a 50.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SFBS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

ServisFirst Bancshares Profile

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.