Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 47,817 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,581 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $3,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Esquire Financial by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 16,007 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 40,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $180,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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.

Insider Activity

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $124,134.73. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Esquire Financial stock opened at $76.90 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.41. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $44.45 and a 12 month high of $90.18. The company has a market cap of $639.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.175 dividend. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.57%.

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.