JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 14,521 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 161.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $64,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $151,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of ESQ stock opened at $86.12 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.48. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $44.45 and a one year high of $90.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $716.52 million, a PE ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 31.38% and a return on equity of 19.53%. As a group, research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rena Nigam bought 640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, October 25th.

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.