GW&K Investment Management LLC Acquires 12,242 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,909 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,242 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $20,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 93,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,527,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ ESQ opened at $111.95 on Thursday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.47 and a 1-year high of $134.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.67 and a 200-day moving average of $107.41. The firm has a market cap of $967.25 million, a PE ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.06. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 29.96%.The company had revenue of $40.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.76 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total value of $241,947.64. Following the sale, the director owned 58,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,104,565.39. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.10, for a total transaction of $525,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,255.10. This trade represents a 43.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,308 shares of company stock worth $3,430,948. Insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.