B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $1.47 Million in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,699,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,228,000 after acquiring an additional 221,507 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 3.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,230,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,775,000 after purchasing an additional 36,302 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,037,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,466,000 after purchasing an additional 108,088 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 472,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,876,000 after buying an additional 7,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 2,704.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 415,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,428,000 after buying an additional 400,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

ServisFirst Bancshares Stock Performance

SFBS stock opened at $96.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.72 and a twelve month high of $100.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $85.29 and its 200-day moving average is $74.86. The company has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84 and a beta of 0.86.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $256.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.70 million. ServisFirst Bancshares had a return on equity of 14.23% and a net margin of 21.16%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 32.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, SVP Henry Fulbrook Abbott sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.20, for a total value 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 $724,285.20. This represents a 10.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Rodney Eldon Rushing sold 12,000 shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.58, for a total value of $966,960.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 307,837 shares in the company, valued at $24,805,505.46. This trade represents a 3.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SFBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Hovde Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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.