Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 387,730 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.66% of Esquire Financial worth $30,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ampfield Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,005,000 after acquiring an additional 24,773 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 166,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,270,000 after purchasing an additional 23,998 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 161.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after purchasing an additional 11,345 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter worth $657,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ ESQ opened at $77.76 on Tuesday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.45 and a 1 year high of $90.18. The company has a market cap of $655.67 million, a PE ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.81.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Esquire Financial

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.