JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stock Holdings in SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 130.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,527 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 42,771 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.45% of SmartFinancial worth $2,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SMBK. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter worth about $3,718,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in SmartFinancial by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 274,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,518,000 after purchasing an additional 40,104 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 423.4% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 60,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 48,576 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of SmartFinancial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in SmartFinancial in the fourth quarter worth $917,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SMBK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of SmartFinancial in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James restated 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. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn bought 1,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.75 per share, with a total value of $40,379.50. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 96,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,368,595.50. This represents a 1.21 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 7.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SmartFinancial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $30.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $512.58 million, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.59. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.14 and a 52-week high of $37.72.

SmartFinancial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. SmartFinancial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.16%.

SmartFinancial Profile

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.