Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 467 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,453 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. FMR LLC raised its stake 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. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth $238,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at about $252,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $75.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $632.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.63. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.45 and a 1-year high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted 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%. 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 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other 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 transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial 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.