Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 204 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $61,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 9.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,655,000 after purchasing an additional 17,333 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $926,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 14,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 7,502 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $401,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $151,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Esquire Financial stock opened at $89.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $743.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.73. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.45 and a twelve month high of $90.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.16.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. On average, equities analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.