Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 11,851.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,859 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.06% of Esquire Financial worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,407,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 21,266 shares during the last quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,005,000 after buying an additional 24,773 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 185,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,783,000 after buying an additional 3,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 23,998 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total value of $1,670,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,738,820.44. This trade represents a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,599 shares in the company, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of ESQ traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.30. 157,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,156. The company has a market cap of $755.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.53. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.07 and a fifty-two week high of $93.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $87.57 and its 200-day moving average is $82.09.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.71 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 19.20%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.23%.

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.