Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 42.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,994 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $2,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 800,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,703,000 after purchasing an additional 23,692 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,990,000 after buying an additional 11,699 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 368,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,563,000 after buying an additional 1,878 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 304,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,750,000 after acquiring an additional 39,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ampfield Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 233,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,071,000 after acquiring an additional 43,633 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Esquire Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total transaction of $388,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 139,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,102,398.40. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 13.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ ESQ opened at $124.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $121.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.99. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.10 and a 1-year high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $42.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.59 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 18.22%. On average, analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 13.20%.

About Esquire Financial

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.

In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.