American Century Companies Inc. Buys 23,998 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 166,915 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,998 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $13,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 322.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,887,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $534,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position 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 buying an additional 11,345 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

ESQ opened at $75.55 on Wednesday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $44.45 and a one year high of $90.18. The stock has a market cap of $637.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.94.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. 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. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at $2,754,522.59. The trade was a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 58,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

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.