American Century Companies Inc. Buys 23,998 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 166,915 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,998 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 2.01% of Esquire Financial worth $13,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 14.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the third quarter worth $215,000. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Delphi Management Inc. MA lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of Esquire Financial stock opened at $75.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $637.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.78. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.45 and a 1 year high of $90.18. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.36 and its 200 day moving average is $74.94.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. On average, equities analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. This is a boost from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 35,501 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company's stock.

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.

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