Selig Zises Sells 20,000 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Stock

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. The trade was a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

ESQ stock opened at $73.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.94. 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 cap of $615.59 million, a P/E ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.73.

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 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%. Equities analysts predict 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. 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. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,407,000. Ampfield Management L.P. increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,005,000 after purchasing an additional 24,773 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 166,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,270,000 after purchasing an additional 23,998 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 161.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.