ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.4% in Q1, now holding approximately $51.48 million worth of shares.
• CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of the company stock, decreasing his ownership by 3.61% to approximately $52.14 million.
• ServisFirst Bancshares reported $1.21 EPS, slightly exceeding analysts' estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend with a yield of 1.5%.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 623,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,824 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.14% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $51,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.0% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,466 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,000. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $297,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.99, for a total value of $1,953,905.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,588 shares in the company, valued at $52,141,818.12. This trade represents a 3.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SFBS opened at $88.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.85. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $80.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.11. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.48 and a 12-month high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $132.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.26 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 24.62% and a return on equity of 15.47%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.50.

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.

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