Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 14,943 Shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 236,384 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 14,943 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.63% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $9,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EFSC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,295,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $102,472,000 after buying an additional 150,023 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 411,256 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,363,000 after acquiring an additional 105,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,912,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,387,000 after purchasing an additional 99,703 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 404,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,041,000 after purchasing an additional 58,027 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,994,848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,070,000 after purchasing an additional 48,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Enterprise Financial Services from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th.

Enterprise Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EFSC traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.25. 172,386 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,522. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.46. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a 12 month low of $32.97 and a 12 month high of $54.88.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Enterprise Financial Services’s payout ratio is presently 22.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, Director Richard Sanborn sold 94,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.73, for a total transaction of $5,094,409.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,460 shares in the company, valued at $7,493,185.80. The sale 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.

About Enterprise Financial Services

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.