Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,488 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 21,908 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Enterprise Financial Services were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 8.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,622,760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,068,000 after purchasing an additional 207,256 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,371,519 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,062,000 after acquiring an additional 13,956 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 995,541 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,759,000 after acquiring an additional 26,008 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 1.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 919,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,332,000 after purchasing an additional 10,787 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 18.5% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 363,587 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,081,000 after purchasing an additional 56,884 shares during the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of EFSC stock opened at $60.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.60. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a one year low of $51.18 and a one year high of $62.30.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.01. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $113.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Enterprise Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark G. Ponder sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total transaction of $75,687.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,499.30. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

About Enterprise Financial Services

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ: EFSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, operating through its primary subsidiary, Enterprise Bank & Trust. The company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to individuals, small- and mid-sized businesses, and institutional clients. Its capabilities encompass deposit products, lending solutions, mortgage banking, and treasury management, supported by a full suite of digital banking tools and personalized client service.

In its commercial banking segment, Enterprise Bank & Trust offers lines of credit, equipment financing, commercial real estate loans, construction lending and agriculture lending.