Boston Partners Sells 7,520 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Boston Partners lessened its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 44.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,520 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $180,000. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ESQ. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of ESQ stock opened at $72.18 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.45 and a 12-month high of $90.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $600.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $80.55 and a 200-day moving average of $74.08.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.175 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.97%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 13.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.