American Century Companies Inc. Sells 1,320 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,320 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.30% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $13,886,000 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 SFBS. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 53,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,522,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of SFBS opened at $80.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.34. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.11 and a 52-week high of $101.37. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.91.

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 32.21%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFBS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of 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 Company 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.