ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,477,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 202,332 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 4.54% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $209,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SFBS. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 30,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 110,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,336,000 after purchasing an additional 26,146 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 56,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,766,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 139,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,825,000 after buying an additional 8,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on SFBS shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $96.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th.

Insider Activity

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,546,224.48. This trade represents a 50.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Up 0.9 %

SFBS stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.59. The stock had a trading volume of 191,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 225,194. The company's 50-day moving average price is $80.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.89. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.43 and a 12-month high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $131.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is 30.45%.

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.