Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380,133 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 17,185 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.02% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $21,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EFSC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,113 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,268 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,717 shares of the bank's stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,191 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,600 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,215,368 shares of the bank's stock worth $124,947,000 after acquiring an additional 54,987 shares during the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ EFSC traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.38. 219,634 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 180,051. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.85. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a 52-week low of $37.28 and a 52-week high of $63.13.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company had revenue of $18.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.83 million. Equities research analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $903,186.09. This represents a 26.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Brian Lally sold 4,689 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $258,739.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,902,825.32. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,614 shares of company stock worth $603,790. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.