Welch Group LLC Has $91.65 Million Stock Position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Welch Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,139,239 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 116,259 shares during the period. ServisFirst Bancshares accounts for approximately 4.0% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Welch Group LLC owned 2.09% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $91,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,699,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,228,000 after buying an additional 221,507 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 34.0% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,438,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,484,000 after buying an additional 364,720 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $77,775,000 after buying an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 929,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,733,000 after buying an additional 43,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 472,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,876,000 after purchasing an additional 7,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

SFBS stock traded up $3.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $85.80. The company had a trading volume of 180,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,829. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.02 and a 1 year high of $88.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.95. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $120.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $724,285.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total transaction of $966,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.