ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. $SFBS Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. by 21.7%, selling 10,770 shares and now owns approximately 0.07% of the company, valued at $3.2 million.
• Piper Sandler has increased its price target for ServisFirst Bancshares from $84 to $90 and maintains a "neutral" rating for the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.5% with a payout ratio of 29.32%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,770 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $3,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SFBS. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,072,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,598,000 after acquiring an additional 214,879 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,902,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $487,525,000 after buying an additional 187,715 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,726,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,878.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 140,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,592,000 after buying an additional 135,626 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 340.8% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 67,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,732,000 after buying an additional 52,294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of SFBS stock traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $88.88. 276,975 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,824. The business's fifty day moving average is $80.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.48 and a 12-month high of $101.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.85.

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

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In related news, CEO Thomas A. Broughton sold 22,206 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.99, for a total transaction of $1,953,905.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,141,818.12. This represents a 3.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

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.