GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 9,026 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,026 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 2.39% of Esquire Financial worth $9,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 96.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 5,706 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 5.2% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 15,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 156.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 10,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EAM Investors LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the third quarter worth $1,328,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total transaction of $598,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 135,033 shares in the company, valued at $6,730,044.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of ESQ opened at $47.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.09 million, a PE ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.77. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.12 and a 1-year high of $54.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.21.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $29.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.04 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.50% and a return on equity of 20.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.90%.

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.