Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares were worth $843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ServisFirst Bancshares by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 6.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 48,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,866,000 after buying an additional 2,794 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 766.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 7,630 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,546,224.48. This represents a 50.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SFBS shares. 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 increased their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

NYSE SFBS opened at $82.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.91. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 0.91. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.11 and a 1-year high of $101.37.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last posted its 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 posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.21%.

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.