Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Sells 13,254 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Key Points

• Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings by 20.0%, now holding 53,151 shares valued at approximately $4,007,000.
• Esquire Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share, indicating an annualized yield of 0.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 12.92%.
• Analysts have set a new target price of $110.00 for Esquire Financial, raising it from a previous target of $102.00, with the company recently reporting earnings of $1.38 per share.

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,254 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.63% of Esquire Financial worth $4,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 359,677 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company's stock worth $30,825,000 after acquiring an additional 21,266 shares during the last quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of 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 grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 224,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,956,000 after purchasing an additional 4,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 185,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,783,000 after purchasing an additional 3,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ESQ. Wall Street Zen raised Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. 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 note on Friday, July 25th.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

ESQ traded up $1.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $94.65. 52,901 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 93,527. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.49 and a fifty-two week high of $106.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $94.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.96. The stock has a market cap of $800.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 0.57.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.33% and a net margin of 30.96%. The business had revenue of ($24.94) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.26 million. Research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $476,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,813,805.38. This represents a 14.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Esquire Financial Company 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.