Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $545,000 in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $545,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.08% of Esquire Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,407,000. Ampfield Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,005,000 after acquiring an additional 24,773 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 166,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,270,000 after acquiring an additional 23,998 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 5.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ESQ traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.68. 51,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 48,005. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.52. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.55 and a fifty-two week high of $90.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $756.18 million, a PE ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.51.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The firm had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. Research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.23%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 86,599 shares in the company, valued at $7,263,058.13. This trade represents a 3.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,000 shares of company stock worth $3,473,610. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

About Esquire Financial

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.