Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Sells $1,551,800.00 in Stock

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $2.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $74.33. 21,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 88,616. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.55 and a 200 day moving average of $72.94. The stock has a market cap of $618.46 million, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.73. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.45 and a twelve month high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Esquire Financial by 151.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.