Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 341,187 Shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,581,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 341,187 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 3.02% of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida worth $69,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 7.9% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 32,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $459,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,024,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,959,000 after buying an additional 23,396 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 112.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,754,000 after buying an additional 94,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the third quarter worth $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.70.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBCF opened at $29.17 on Tuesday. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a 52-week low of $21.90 and a 52-week high of $31.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.57 and a 200-day moving average of $26.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 5.44%. The firm had revenue of $130.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.20 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida’s dividend payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles M. Shaffer sold 21,255 shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.36, for a total value of $645,301.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,232 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,832,403.52. The trade was a 14.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Company Profile

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as the bank holding company for Seacoast National Bank that provides integrated financial services to retail and commercial customers in Florida. The company offers noninterest and interest-bearing demand deposit, money market, savings, and customer sweep accounts; time certificates of deposit; construction and land development, commercial and residential real estate, and commercial and financial loans; and consumer loans, including installment loans and revolving lines, as well as loans for automobiles, boats, and personal and family purposes.