20,636 Shares in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 20,636 shares of Esquire Financial Holdings in the second quarter, worth approximately $2.46 million and representing about 0.17% of the company.
• Esquire Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.60 in EPS versus the $1.56 consensus and $42.13 million in revenue versus estimates of $41.59 million.
• Analysts maintain an overall “Buy” rating with a $120.33 consensus price target, while the company pays a $0.20 quarterly dividend and insiders recently sold shares.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 20,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,458,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.17% of Esquire Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 247.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 553 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Esquire Financial during the first quarter valued at $174,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Esquire Financial during the second quarter valued at $227,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of ESQ stock opened at $116.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20 and a beta of 0.35. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $92.10 and a one year high of $134.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $121.74 and its 200 day moving average is $115.50.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The firm had revenue of $42.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.59 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total transaction of $388,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 139,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,102,398.40. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew C. Sagliocca sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.73, for a total value of $1,227,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 288,798 shares in the company, valued at $35,444,178.54. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 13.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, a federally chartered community bank headquartered in Jericho, New York. Founded in 2006, Esquire Bank focuses on serving law firms, attorneys, and other professional service businesses, along with small and middle-market companies and individual customers.

The bank offers commercial and consumer banking products, including business and personal deposit accounts, commercial real estate and commercial loans, lines of credit, mortgage loans, and treasury management services.

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