Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases Shares of 3,495 Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 61,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,877,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,816,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.50.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Esquire Financial stock opened at $97.51 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.95 and a 1-year high of $106.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $832.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.29.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.96% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The firm had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.26 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $1,695,070.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,094,009.71. This trade represents a 44.74% 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 Joseph Melohn sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.90, for a total transaction of $1,098,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 137,857 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,914.30. This trade represents a 7.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,326 shares of company stock worth $3,403,470 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

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.