Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $83.47 Million Position in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 108,088 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.90% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $83,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $10,507,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,373,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 7.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 216,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,457,000 after buying an additional 14,859 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SFBS. Piper Sandler upped their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $724,285.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

NYSE:SFBS traded up $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.98. The stock had a trading volume of 252,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,707. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.90. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.06 and a 12 month high of $98.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66 and a beta of 0.86.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.13. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.09%.

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.