Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Position Boosted by Ampfield Management L.P.

Ampfield Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 251,633 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,773 shares during the period. Esquire Financial accounts for approximately 20.8% of Ampfield Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Ampfield Management L.P.’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $20,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 322.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,887,000 after buying an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 79.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 16,007 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after purchasing an additional 11,345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This trade represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,427 shares of company stock valued at $975,745. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $78.97 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.80. 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 cap of $657.03 million, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.57%.

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.