6,851 Shares in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ESQ. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $252,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 2.9 %

Esquire Financial stock opened at $74.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $624.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.52. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.45 and a 1-year high of $90.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.22.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,149.03. This trade represents 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.