Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 59,447 Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired 59,447 shares in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation, valued at approximately $3,195,000, representing about 0.16% of the company's stock.
• Enterprise Financial Services announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.30 to $0.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 22.77%.
• In their latest earnings report, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and demonstrated strong profitability metrics with a net margin of 21.28%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 59,447 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,195,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Enterprise Financial Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services during the first quarter valued at about $22,901,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 10.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,314,377 shares of the bank's stock valued at $124,375,000 after buying an additional 225,369 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 430,662 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,289,000 after buying an additional 107,996 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,771,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 911,911 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,006,000 after buying an additional 63,972 shares during the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total value of $100,832.48. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Finn acquired 1,500 shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.11 per share, with a total value of $81,165.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,330. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of EFSC stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.67. 139,341 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,271. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a 1 year low of $45.22 and a 1 year high of $63.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $57.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.77.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $176.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.82 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 21.28% and a return on equity of 11.19%. Research analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. 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 presently 22.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Enterprise Financial Services presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.33.

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.