Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Shares Sold by Enterprise Financial Services Corp

Enterprise Financial Services Corp trimmed its position in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 363,382 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,633 shares during the quarter. Enterprise Financial Services accounts for 11.4% of Enterprise Financial Services Corp’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Enterprise Financial Services Corp’s holdings in Enterprise Financial Services were worth $20,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFSC. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 46.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,417,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 15.5% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 118,540 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,076,000 after acquiring an additional 15,916 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 21.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 117,328 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,014,000 after acquiring an additional 20,398 shares during the period. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $323,046.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $903,186.09. The trade was a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on EFSC. DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

EFSC opened at $56.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $58.25 and its 200-day moving average is $55.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a twelve month low of $37.28 and a twelve month high of $63.13.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Enterprise Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 23.97%.

About Enterprise Financial Services

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.