Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lessened its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 44.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,347 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,520 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.11% of Esquire Financial worth $743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 2.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the company's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.83. The company had a trading volume of 36,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,282. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.45 and a twelve month high of $90.18. The stock has a market cap of $639.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $80.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.41.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,149.03. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.