GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 4,859 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 11,851.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,859 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.06% of Esquire Financial worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter worth $33,407,000. Ampfield Management L.P. increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,005,000 after purchasing an additional 24,773 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 166,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,270,000 after buying an additional 23,998 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,825,000 after buying an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $657,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $89.30 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.57 and its 200 day moving average is $82.07. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.55 and a 12-month high of $93.24. The stock has a market cap of $755.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.53.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.71 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total transaction of $1,670,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. This trade represents a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 86,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.