ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Shares Bought by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,903 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.09% of ESCO Technologies worth $3,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,479 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 6,779 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,958 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ESE shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of ESE stock opened at $164.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.42 and a fifty-two week high of $171.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $156.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66 and a beta of 1.07.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 9.91%. On average, analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.51%.

ESCO Technologies Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.

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