Welch Group LLC Has $88.69 Million Stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Welch Group LLC cut its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS - Free Report) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,035,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 103,615 shares during the quarter. ServisFirst Bancshares makes up 4.0% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Welch Group LLC owned 1.90% of ServisFirst Bancshares worth $88,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $253,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 182.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 94,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,952,000 after purchasing an additional 60,781 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 67.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBS has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised ServisFirst Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Hovde Group increased 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

ServisFirst Bancshares Trading Up 0.1 %

SFBS stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $93.45. 156,837 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,260. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $58.05 and a one year high of $101.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $89.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.89. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.91. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 23.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This is an increase from ServisFirst Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. ServisFirst Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.21%.

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.