Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. $LOB Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:LOB) by 98.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,975 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,287 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Live Oak Bancshares were worth $1,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LOB. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $43,261,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,278,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 655.6% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 687,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,339,000 after acquiring an additional 596,841 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,181,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 366.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 519,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,313,000 after acquiring an additional 408,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Performance

LOB opened at $42.52 on Monday. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $44.53. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.16.

Live Oak Bancshares (NYSE:LOB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $156.15 million for the quarter. Live Oak Bancshares had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 11.77%. As a group, analysts predict that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.23%.

Insider Activity at Live Oak Bancshares

In other Live Oak Bancshares news, Director William L. Williams III sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.08, for a total transaction of $361,872.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,114,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,996,548.08. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David G. Lucht sold 2,000 shares of Live Oak Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $88,720.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,623 shares in the company, valued at $604,316.28. This trade represents a 12.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 36,454 shares of company stock valued at $1,526,341 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 22.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on LOB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.20.

Live Oak Bancshares Company Profile

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, and operates through its subsidiary Live Oak Banking Company. Founded in 2008, the company leverages a branchless, technology-driven platform to deliver specialty lending and deposit products across the United States. Live Oak Bancshares completed its initial public offering in February 2018 and trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol LOB.

The company’s primary focus is on originating and servicing commercial loans for small businesses in select industry verticals.