Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Shares Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 99.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,321 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ampfield Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,005,000 after acquiring an additional 24,773 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 14,521 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after acquiring an additional 11,345 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $545,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total value of $1,551,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

ESQ stock opened at $72.18 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.45 and a 1 year high of $90.18. The firm has a market cap of $600.61 million, a P/E ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $80.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.98.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 13.57%.

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.