Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Makes New Investment in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Esquire Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 79.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 161.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased 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 acquiring an additional 11,345 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,887,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the 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 $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rena Nigam purchased 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.50 per share, with a total value of $49,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $79.22 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $82.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $659.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.73. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.45 and a 12-month high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders 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. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

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.