First Trust Advisors LP Has $9.34 Million Stock Position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 26,146 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.20% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $9,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 761.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $96.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,546,224.48. This trade represents a 50.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SFBS traded up $2.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.61. 176,685 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 225,457. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.54. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.51 and a 52 week high of $101.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $131.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.13 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 23.16%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.45%.

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.