American Century Companies Inc. Raises Holdings in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 847,939 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 96,822 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 2.28% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $47,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 23,208 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 6,336 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 145.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 43,275 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 25,678 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 196.7% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 17,173 shares of the bank's stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 11,385 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 694,316 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,159,000 after buying an additional 16,922 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 437.4% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 23,223 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,310,000 after buying an additional 18,902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Financial Services

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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,447 shares in the company, valued at $903,186.09. The trade was a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of EFSC stock traded down $1.46 on Friday, hitting $53.86. The stock had a trading volume of 143,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,578. The company's 50 day moving average price is $58.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.33. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a 1 year low of $37.28 and a 1 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.97.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 23.97%.

Enterprise Financial Services 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.