EAM Investors LLC Has $1.18 Million Stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

EAM Investors LLC lowered its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 797 shares during the period. EAM Investors LLC owned 0.18% of Esquire Financial worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $79.51 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.85. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week high of $90.18. The company has a market capitalization of $670.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.52.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. Equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,149.03. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. The trade was a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association that provides commercial banking products and services to legal industry and small businesses, and commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit.