Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC Invests $571,000 in Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. $SYBT

Key Points

• Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC invested $571,000 in Stock Yards Bancorp, acquiring 8,264 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider sales include Director Laura L. Wells and EVP Michael Croce, who collectively sold 8,100 shares worth over $628,000, indicating a decrease in their holdings.
• Stock Yards Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.32 per share, reflecting a 1.5% yield, with payment scheduled for October 1st.

Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,264 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SYBT. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 16,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 4,368 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,105 shares of the bank's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $835,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,767,000 after purchasing an additional 6,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 96,617 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,919,000 after purchasing an additional 20,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Stock Yards Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SYBT traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $80.71. 71,875 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 99,269. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.74. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $56.35 and a one year high of $83.83. The company's 50 day moving average is $78.13 and its 200 day moving average is $73.98.

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $97.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.32 million. Stock Yards Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 23.86%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Stock Yards Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from Stock Yards Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Stock Yards Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 29.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James A. Hillebrand sold 2,162 shares of Stock Yards Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.32, for a total value of $180,137.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,292 shares in the company, valued at $8,939,569.44. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Croce sold 4,100 shares of Stock Yards Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total value of $315,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,895,676. This trade represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,064 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,920 in the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Stock Yards Bancorp Company Profile

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.