Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 322.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 7,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,887,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $534,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated 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. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ESQ opened at $73.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $614.67 million, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.05. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.45 and a 12 month high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rena Nigam purchased 640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at $144,692.50. This trade represents a 52.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 24,427 shares of company stock worth $1,913,385 in the last 90 days. 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.