Vanguard Group Inc. Has $45.99 Million Holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 450,577 shares worth about $45.99 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 54.66% of the company.
• Insiders were selling shares: Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares and Director Selig Zises sold 25,000 shares, bringing total insider sales over the past 90 days to 32,308 shares valued at about $3.43 million.
• Esquire Financial recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.58 per share versus a $1.52 estimate, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, yielding about 0.8% annually.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 450,577 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,699 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.26% of Esquire Financial worth $45,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESQ. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Esquire Financial by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 265,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,105,000 after acquiring an additional 27,528 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Esquire Financial by 376.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC grew its position in Esquire Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 38,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,990,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Esquire Financial by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total value of $241,947.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,104,565.39. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $2,663,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $905,696.54. This represents a 74.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,308 shares of company stock valued at $3,430,948 in the last ninety days. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ESQ shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Esquire Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $105.43 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $107.94 and its 200-day moving average is $105.65. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.08 and a 1-year high of $134.82. The stock has a market cap of $910.92 million, a P/E ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 29.96%.The company had revenue of $40.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.76 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.45%.

About Esquire Financial

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.

In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.

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