Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Stake Raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,340 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.33% of Esquire Financial worth $2,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ampfield Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,005,000 after purchasing an additional 24,773 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 23,998 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $657,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $83.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $700.28 million, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.52. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.55 and a 1 year high of $90.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.51.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.175 dividend. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

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

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.