Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Reduces Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd reduced its position in Esquire Financial by **81.1%**, holding only 1,561 shares after selling 6,702 shares in the first quarter.
• Esquire Financial reported **$1.38** earnings per share for the last quarter, meeting analyst expectations, but its revenue fell short of predictions at **$24.94 million** against an expected **$28.26 million**.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.175 per share**, with a dividend yield of **0.7%**, and a payout ratio of **12.92%**.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 81.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,561 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,702 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 85.6% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 779,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,788,000 after purchasing an additional 359,677 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 152.5% during the first quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,194 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 11.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the first quarter valued at $4,640,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the first quarter valued at $106,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $476,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,813,805.38. This represents a 14.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Esquire Financial stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $93.48. The stock had a trading volume of 22,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,309. The stock's 50 day moving average is $94.65 and its 200 day moving average is $85.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $791.03 million, a PE ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.57. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.49 and a twelve month high of $106.11.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.38. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.96% and a return on equity of 19.33%. The firm had revenue of ($24.94) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.26 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

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.