Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 48,576 Shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of SmartFinancial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMBK) by 423.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,048 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,576 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.35% of SmartFinancial worth $1,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in SmartFinancial by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 184,555 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,378,000 after purchasing an additional 35,565 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of SmartFinancial by 78.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,848 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 10,055 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in SmartFinancial by 6.9% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 14,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in SmartFinancial by 69.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 340,418 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,920,000 after purchasing an additional 139,009 shares during the period. 58.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SmartFinancial Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:SMBK opened at $31.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $529.87 million, a P/E ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. SmartFinancial, Inc. has a one year low of $19.00 and a one year high of $37.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.61.

SmartFinancial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. SmartFinancial’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SMBK shares. Stephens lowered shares of SmartFinancial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price (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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.70.

Insider Activity at SmartFinancial

In other news, Chairman Wesley Miller Welborn purchased 1,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $34.75 per share, for a total transaction of $40,379.50. Following the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 96,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,368,595.50. This trade represents a 1.21 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.