Copeland Capital Management LLC Has $23.18 Million Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, owning 244,861 shares valued at approximately $23.18 million after a boost of over 40,000% during the second quarter.
• Insider trading activity includes Director Selig Zises selling 17,000 shares for about $1.7 million, while Joseph Melohn sold 1,326 shares for around $132,600, indicating a decrease in their stock holdings.
• Esquire Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share, resulting in a 0.7% yield and a payout ratio of 12.92% as per their latest financial disclosures.

Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 40,107.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 244,861 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 244,252 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 2.89% of Esquire Financial worth $23,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 85.6% in the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 779,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,788,000 after buying an additional 359,677 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 3.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 402,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,355,000 after buying an additional 14,958 shares in the last quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 11.9% in the first quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 281,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,220,000 after buying an additional 29,869 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 2.1% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 224,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,956,000 after buying an additional 4,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 25.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 209,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,829,000 after buying an additional 43,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $1,695,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,094,009.71. This represents a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 1,326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $132,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 136,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,653,100. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,326 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,470 in the last ninety days. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of ESQ opened at $100.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $858.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.53. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.64 and a 1-year high of $107.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $98.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.19.

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

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Esquire Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $100.50.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESQ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.