Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Shares Acquired by Horizon Investment Services LLC

Horizon Investment Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,389 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,572 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $2,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Ampfield Management L.P. raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,005,000 after acquiring an additional 24,773 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 161.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after buying an additional 11,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

ESQ stock opened at $75.06 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week high of $90.18. The company has a market capitalization of $632.91 million, a P/E ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.53.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total value of $1,551,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,522.59. The trade was 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESQ. Raymond James downgraded Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.