Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Stock Holdings Reduced by NFJ Investment Group LLC

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,635 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 774 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.17% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $3,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 5,540.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,695,956 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,238,852,000 after buying an additional 38,992,127 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,089,008 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,820,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 892,030 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,734,000 after purchasing an additional 8,180 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 847,939 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,824,000 after purchasing an additional 96,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 694,316 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,159,000 after purchasing an additional 16,922 shares in the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $323,046.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $903,186.09. The trade was a 26.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFSC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of EFSC opened at $48.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.99. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a one year low of $37.28 and a one year high of $63.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. As a group, analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Enterprise Financial Services’s payout ratio is 23.97%.

Enterprise Financial Services Company Profile

Enterprise Financial Services Corp operates as the holding company for Enterprise Bank & Trust that offers banking and wealth management services to individuals and corporate customers primarily in Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico. It provides checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit.