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

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,405 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,497 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $5,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

ESQ stock opened at $75.83 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $639.40 million, a PE ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.78. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $44.45 and a one year high of $90.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.42.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. On average, research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.