Northern Trust Corp Acquires 38,916 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 632,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,916 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.16% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $53,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 761.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

SFBS traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $78.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,944. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company's 50-day moving average is $76.02 and its 200-day moving average is $85.15. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.51 and a 52 week high of $101.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.83.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of $131.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 30.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,224.48. This represents a 50.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $96.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

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.