SmartFinancial, Inc. $SMBK Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in SmartFinancial, Inc. by 3.8%, selling 16,818 shares during the first quarter, now owning 420,975 shares worth approximately $13,084,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Invesco, have recently increased their stakes in SmartFinancial, highlighting a growing interest in the bank's shares.
• SmartFinancial reported earnings per share of $0.69 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $38.25.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 420,975 shares of the bank's stock after selling 16,818 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.47% of SmartFinancial worth $13,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial in the 1st quarter valued at $2,196,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 281.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 60,255 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,867,000 after buying an additional 44,467 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 758,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,485,000 after buying an additional 32,418 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in SmartFinancial by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 87,634 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,724,000 after buying an additional 27,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LeConte Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial in the 1st quarter valued at $602,000. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of SmartFinancial stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,691. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.31 and a twelve month high of $37.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.19 and a 200-day moving average of $32.68. The stock has a market cap of $630.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. SmartFinancial had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 12.67%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that SmartFinancial, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. SmartFinancial's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SMBK. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group upped their target price on SmartFinancial from $37.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on SmartFinancial from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.25.

About SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments.