601,624 Shares in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ Acquired by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 601,624 shares of Esquire Financial during the second quarter, worth approximately $71.7 million and representing a 6.96% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 54.66% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating on ESQ, with a target price of $120.33. The company recently exceeded quarterly estimates, reporting $1.60 in earnings per share and $42.13 million in revenue.
• Esquire Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 payout and a 0.7% yield. A company director separately sold 3,000 shares, while insiders retain 13.90% ownership.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 601,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,659,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 6.96% of Esquire Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company's stock worth $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 55,367 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 54.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 9.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ESQ. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Esquire Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 139,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 13.90% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ ESQ opened at $112.35 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $121.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.16. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.10 and a 1 year high of $134.82. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.20%.

Esquire Financial Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.

In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.

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