Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 66,405 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,497 shares during the quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC owned 0.80% of Esquire Financial worth $5,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 566,001 shares of the company's stock worth $36,909,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company's stock worth $30,825,000 after buying an additional 21,266 shares during the last quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company's stock worth $20,005,000 after buying an additional 24,773 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,887,000 after buying an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 166,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,270,000 after acquiring an additional 23,998 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of Esquire Financial 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. The trade was 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously 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 Trading Down 0.3 %

ESQ traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.81. The stock had a trading volume of 7,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,420. The company has a market capitalization of $630.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average is $79.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.73. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $44.45 and a one year high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This is a boost from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is presently 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.