Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 29,247 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 521,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,247 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.96% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $44,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 61.5% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,018,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,704.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,428,000 after purchasing an additional 400,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $83.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 0.91. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.86 and its 200 day moving average is $86.85. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $58.11 and a one year high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 32.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,546,224.48. This trade represents a 50.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th.

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.