Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Has $1.79 Million Stock Holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,994 shares during the quarter. ServisFirst Bancshares makes up 1.1% of Smith Thornton Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC's holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 4,880.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

SFBS traded down $0.70 on Thursday, reaching $87.26. The company had a trading volume of 256,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,559. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.05 and a fifty-two week high of $101.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33 and a beta of 0.91. The company's fifty day moving average is $90.94 and its 200 day moving average is $82.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from ServisFirst Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. This trade represents a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

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.