Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Increases Stock Holdings in Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. $SYBT

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Stock Yards Bancorp by 87.8% during the first quarter, owning approximately 128,300 shares valued at $8.86 million.
• Stock Yards Bancorp recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.31, with an annualized yield of 1.6%.
• Equities analysts have mixed ratings for Stock Yards Bancorp, with target prices ranging from $80.00 to $86.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBT - Free Report) by 87.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,300 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.44% of Stock Yards Bancorp worth $8,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Stock Yards Bancorp by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,669 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Stock Yards Bancorp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 224,850 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,528,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Stock Yards Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $571,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Stock Yards Bancorp by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,278,442 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,289,000 after purchasing an additional 60,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Stock Yards Bancorp by 132.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,070 shares of the bank's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. 56.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James A. Hillebrand sold 2,162 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.32, for a total transaction of $180,137.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,939,569.44. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Dishman sold 2,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $218,836.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,467,491.40. This trade represents a 8.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on SYBT shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Stock Yards Bancorp from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Stock Yards Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Stock Yards Bancorp from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.75.

Stock Yards Bancorp Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ SYBT traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.49. 9,756 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 119,322. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.12 and a 52-week high of $83.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $78.09 and its 200-day moving average is $74.26.

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $97.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $95.32 million. Stock Yards Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 23.86%. Analysts expect that Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stock Yards Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Stock Yards Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Stock Yards Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.51%.

About Stock Yards Bancorp

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, and other banking services.