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

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 0.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 362,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $16,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $68,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Esquire Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Esquire Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $46.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $381.38 million, a P/E ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.79. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $35.00 and a one year high of $54.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.02). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 20.76% and a net margin of 33.72%. The business had revenue of $28.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.01 million. Analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.20%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 12,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total value of $598,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 135,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,730,044.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 20.40% 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.