First Trust Advisors LP Grows Holdings in QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of QCR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCRH) by 809.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,686 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 82,497 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.55% of QCR worth $7,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of QCRH. Barclays PLC grew its stake in QCR by 148.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,805 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 18,430 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of QCR by 11.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,306 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in QCR by 10.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 421,843 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,229,000 after purchasing an additional 41,043 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in QCR during the fourth quarter worth about $3,755,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in QCR by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,053 shares of the bank’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 2,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at QCR

In other news, insider James D. Klein sold 630 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.40, for a total value of $46,242.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,415.20. This trade represents a 59.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Larry J. Helling purchased 1,000 shares of QCR stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $64.53 per share, for a total transaction of $64,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 40,264 shares in the company, valued at $2,598,235.92. This represents a 2.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

QCR Stock Performance

NASDAQ QCRH opened at $65.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.99. QCR Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.75 and a 1-year high of $96.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.45.

QCR (NASDAQ:QCRH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.01. QCR had a net margin of 19.06% and a return on equity of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $76.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that QCR Holdings, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

QCR Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. QCR’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of QCR from $99.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James set a $78.00 price target on shares of QCR and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of QCR from $98.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

About QCR

QCR Holdings, Inc, a multi-bank holding company, provides commercial and consumer banking, and trust and asset management services. The company’s deposit products include noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, time, and brokered deposits. It also provides various commercial and retail lending/leasing, and investment services to corporations, partnerships, individuals, and government agencies.