ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Makes New $306,000 Investment in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $252,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Esquire Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ traded up $1.05 on Friday, reaching $80.56. 50,286 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,376. The stock has a market capitalization of $679.28 million, a PE ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.52. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.55 and a fifty-two week high of $90.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.54 and a 200 day moving average of $76.08.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is 13.57%.

Esquire Financial 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.