Jane Street Group LLC Decreases Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Jane Street Group LLC lessened its holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 44.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,516 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.07% of Esquire Financial worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 21.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,818,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the second quarter valued at about $926,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 9.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,655,000 after acquiring an additional 17,333 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 79.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 16,007 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the second quarter valued at about $570,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,692.50. This trade represents a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $81.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.76. The company has a market cap of $673.92 million, a PE ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.74. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.45 and a 52-week high of $82.56.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.07%.

About Esquire Financial

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.