Heartland Advisors Inc. Buys 7,300 Shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF)

Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 897,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida comprises approximately 1.3% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida were worth $24,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SBCF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 154.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 57.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. 81.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBCF opened at $26.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 1.09. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a twelve month low of $21.90 and a twelve month high of $31.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.15. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 5.91%. On average, research analysts forecast that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SBCF. StockNews.com upgraded Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Profile

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions.