Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 108,088 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.90% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $83,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 17.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,126,000 after purchasing an additional 23,555 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 33,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,680,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 150.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,101,000 after buying an additional 60,517 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value of $85,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group increased their price target on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 24th.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock traded up $0.76 on Friday, hitting $85.86. 1,138,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 207,576. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.05 and a 52 week high of $101.37. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $91.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from ServisFirst Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.83%.

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.