Squarepoint Ops LLC Lowers Stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,349 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.17% of Esquire Financial worth $1,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 151.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Esquire Financial by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,838 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its position in Esquire Financial by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Esquire Financial Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ESQ traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $89.00. 74,132 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,048. The company has a market capitalization of $753.12 million, a P/E ratio of 17.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50 day moving average is $83.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.88. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.55 and a 52 week high of $92.50.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. The business had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors 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 0.79%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.23%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,738,820.44. The trade was a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

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.