Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 420,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,407,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 5.05% of Esquire Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Esquire Financial by 322.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company's stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company's stock worth $11,887,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $534,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,413,000 after acquiring an additional 11,345 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Esquire Financial Trading Down 4.0 %
NASDAQ ESQ traded down $3.00 on Thursday, reaching $71.25. 21,121 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,532. The business's fifty day moving average price is $79.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $600.78 million, a P/E ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.78. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week high of $90.18.
Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. Equities research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.
Esquire Financial Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.57%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently commented on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Esquire Financial
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total value of $1,551,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Esquire Financial Profile
(
Free Report)
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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