SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,700 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,825 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in SmartFinancial were worth $455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 14,925 shares of the bank’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in SmartFinancial by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,501 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,779,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in SmartFinancial by 4.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 5,269.2% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,292 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

SMBK stock opened at $36.20 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.52. The company has a market capitalization of $612.78 million, a P/E ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.00 and a fifty-two week high of $37.72.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John M. Presley sold 6,916 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $242,405.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,798. The trade was a 63.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn purchased 1,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $34.75 per share, with a total value of $40,379.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 96,938 shares in the company, valued at $3,368,595.50. This represents a 1.21 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 7,466 shares of company stock worth $262,044 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SMBK shares. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective (up previously from $36.00) on shares of SmartFinancial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of SmartFinancial from $28.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens downgraded SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.70.

About SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments.