5,040 Shares in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Acquired by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $380,000. Alps Advisors Inc. owned about 0.06% of Esquire Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,407,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 166,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,270,000 after purchasing an additional 23,998 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $657,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $545,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 2.6%

ESQ stock traded up $2.48 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.10. 90,070 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 65,184. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.21. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.49 and a 1 year high of $101.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $830.12 million, a P/E ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 0.52.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 19.20%. The business had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is 13.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,644 shares in the company, valued at $8,738,820.44. This represents a 16.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 86,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Esquire Financial

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.