Insider Selling: Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) EVP Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total transaction of $1,670,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,644 shares in the company, valued at $8,738,820.44. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $84.37 on Wednesday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.55 and a 52 week high of $90.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.24. The firm has a market cap of $711.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.52.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. The company had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 322.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,887,000 after buying an additional 6,025 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 valued at $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 14,521 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.