Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 7.5%, ultimately owning approximately $49 million in the company's stock as of the most recent filing.
• Enterprise Financial Services reported a strong earnings performance, with earnings per share of $1.37, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.20 and generating $176.05 million in revenue for the quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.30 to $0.31 per share, reflecting a stable dividend yield of 2.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 22.77%.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 911,911 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 63,972 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.47% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $49,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 3.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 44,649 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 90,337 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,855,000 after acquiring an additional 5,002 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the first quarter worth about $22,901,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 14.1% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,505 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 11.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 488,546 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,254,000 after acquiring an additional 51,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on EFSC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Enterprise Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.33.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ EFSC traded down $0.35 on Monday, hitting $60.16. 139,325 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,468. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.28 and a 200 day moving average of $54.77. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a twelve month low of $45.22 and a twelve month high of $63.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $176.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.82 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 21.28%. As a group, analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Enterprise Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.77%.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 1,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total transaction of $100,832.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,564,816.60. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Finn acquired 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $54.11 per share, with a total value of $81,165.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,330. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.