Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) Shares Sold by Sapience Investments LLC

Sapience Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,398 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,652 shares during the quarter. Sapience Investments LLC's holdings in Bank OZK were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Bank OZK by 30.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 254,874 shares of the company's stock worth $10,958,000 after purchasing an additional 59,907 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank OZK in the 4th quarter worth $227,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth $307,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 1,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.13.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OZK traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $44.88. The company had a trading volume of 645,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,153. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $35.71 and a 1-year high of $53.64. The business's 50 day moving average price is $42.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.85.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.05. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.20%.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.