JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,340 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.33% of Esquire Financial worth $2,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $85.30. 75,791 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,833. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.55 and a 12 month high of $90.18. The company has a market capitalization of $719.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.94.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The company had revenue of $33.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.71 million. Equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total value of $1,551,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ESQ. Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.