Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,714,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,956 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.48% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $484,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 23,555 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $208,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 411.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 521,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,155,000 after purchasing an additional 29,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company's stock.

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ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of SFBS stock traded down $3.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.60. 439,857 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,468. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.21. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.89. 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 $58.11 and a 12-month high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 14.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. ServisFirst Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SFBS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.40% of the company's stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares 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.