Independent Director Of ServisFirst Bancshares Sold 51% Of Their Shares

Some ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Director, Christopher Mettler, recently sold a substantial US$1.6m worth of stock at a price of US$88.68 per share. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 51% of their entire holding.

Check out our latest analysis for ServisFirst Bancshares

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At ServisFirst Bancshares

The Executive VP & COO, Rodney Rushing, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.6m worth of shares at a price of US$84.56 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$88.52, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 13% of Rodney Rushing's holding.

In the last year ServisFirst Bancshares insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Insider Ownership Of ServisFirst Bancshares

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that ServisFirst Bancshares insiders own 8.2% of the company, worth about US$398m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The ServisFirst Bancshares Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. On the plus side, ServisFirst Bancshares makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing ServisFirst Bancshares. While conducting our analysis, we found that ServisFirst Bancshares has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

But note: ServisFirst Bancshares may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.