560,013 Shares in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 560,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,456,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,157,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,126,000 after acquiring an additional 23,555 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in ServisFirst Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $208,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in ServisFirst Bancshares by 411.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in ServisFirst Bancshares by 169.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of ServisFirst Bancshares by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 521,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,155,000 after buying an additional 29,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ServisFirst Bancshares

In other ServisFirst Bancshares news, Director Christopher J. Mettler sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total transaction of $1,596,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,436 shares in the company, valued at $1,546,224.48. This trade represents a 50.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ServisFirst Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of ServisFirst Bancshares stock opened at $70.60 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 52 week low of $58.11 and a 52 week high of $101.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.89.

ServisFirst Bancshares (NYSE:SFBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ServisFirst Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. ServisFirst Bancshares’s payout ratio is 32.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SFBS shares. StockNews.com upgraded ServisFirst Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of ServisFirst Bancshares from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

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.