The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 260 Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SFBS. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,125,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 103.8% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 5,258 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.7% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 8.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 202,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,773,000 after acquiring an additional 14,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.6% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 67.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,805,505.46. The trade was a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total transaction of $85,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,285.20. The trade was a 10.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of SFBS stock opened at $95.16 on Monday. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $55.04 and a one year high of $101.37. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $88.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44 and a beta of 0.88.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $256.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a net margin of 21.16% and a return on equity of 14.23%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is 32.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SFBS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 24th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on ServisFirst Bancshares from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

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.