American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, owning $15.83 million worth of shares after purchasing an additional 43,076 shares in Q1 2023.
• Esquire Financial has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.175, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th, 2023, reflecting a 0.7% dividend yield.
• Despite a recent earnings report that met analysts' expectations, Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Esquire Financial, with one Buy rating and two Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $100.50.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,991 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,076 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.49% of Esquire Financial worth $15,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 7.5% during the first quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 3,008 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth $1,694,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth $623,000. Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth $1,033,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 402,688 shares of the company's stock worth $30,355,000 after purchasing an additional 14,958 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.90, for a total transaction of $1,098,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 137,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,914.30. The trade was a 7.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $1,695,070.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,094,009.71. The trade was a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,326 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,470. Corporate insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $98.89. The company had a trading volume of 43,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,161. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.00 and a 1-year high of $106.11. The firm has a market cap of $844.38 million, a PE ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50 day moving average price is $97.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.33.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 30.96%.The company had revenue of ($24.94) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.26 million. On average, analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Esquire Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.50.

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.