JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida $SBCF

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase cut its stake in Seacoast Banking (NASDAQ:SBCF) by 53.6% in Q3, selling 286,624 shares and ending the period with 248,253 shares worth about $7.55 million (≈0.25% of the company).
• Other institutions added exposure—most notably Wellington Management, which increased its position to 5,482,250 shares (~$166.8M)—and institutional investors now own 81.77% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.90; Seacoast missed quarterly EPS ($0.44 vs. $0.51), reported revenue up 53% year-over-year, and declared a $0.19 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.76, ~2.6% yield).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Free Report) by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 286,624 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.25% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida worth $7,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 58.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,482,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,825,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025,988 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 194.6% during the second quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,885,000 after purchasing an additional 762,505 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 99.4% during the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,411,000 after purchasing an additional 727,428 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in the third quarter worth about $14,865,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 37.3% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,255,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,685,000 after purchasing an additional 341,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SBCF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.90.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of SBCF opened at $29.45 on Tuesday. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 1-year low of $21.36 and a 1-year high of $35.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $32.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.92.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.07). Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 15.47%.The company had revenue of $204.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's quarterly revenue was up 53.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida news, Director Dennis J. Arczynski sold 3,419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.21, for a total value of $116,963.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,210. This represents a 77.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total value of $250,720.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 236,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,423,004.36. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 29,752 shares of company stock worth $976,846 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as a bank holding company through its principal subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank. Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, Seacoast National Bank provides a full range of commercial and retail banking services across the coastal region of Florida. Its network of branches serves customers from Martin County through Miami-Dade County, offering deposit accounts, lending solutions, cash management and payment services to individuals, small businesses and middle-market companies.

In addition to traditional banking, Seacoast offers specialized mortgage lending and wealth management services.

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