Insider Selling: First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Insider Sells 4,828 Shares of Stock

First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) insider Daniel Ovokaitys sold 4,828 shares of First Business Financial Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.55, for a total transaction of $263,367.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,016.90. This represents a 38.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Business Financial Services Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBIZ opened at $54.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $448.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.88. First Business Financial Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.56 and a 12 month high of $56.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.08.

First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. First Business Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 16.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Business Financial Services, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Business Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from First Business Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. First Business Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 19.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Business Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FBIZ. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in First Business Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in First Business Financial Services by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 33,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of First Business Financial Services by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,084,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Business Financial Services by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 173,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,907,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FBIZ. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Business Financial Services from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James raised their price target on First Business Financial Services from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Business Financial Services from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Business Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.75.

First Business Financial Services Company Profile

First Business Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for First Business Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small and medium-sized businesses, business owners, executives, professionals, and high net worth individuals in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Missouri.