Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 1,100 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $208,000. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $89.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $87.84 and its 200-day moving average is $86.18. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $58.10 and a one year 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 23.16%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a positive change from ServisFirst Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is 32.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on SFBS shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total value of $1,596,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,546,224.48. The trade was a 50.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

About ServisFirst Bancshares

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.