146,461 Shares in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 146,461 ESCO Technologies shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $51.3 million, giving it a 0.57% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 95.7% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and an average price target of $416.50. Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan set targets of $413 and $420, respectively.
• ESCO reported quarterly EPS of $2.20, beating estimates by $0.08, while revenue rose 14.4% year over year to $339.03 million. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.30–$8.40 and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 146,461 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $51,267,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.57% of ESCO Technologies as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $22,862,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in ESCO Technologies by 3.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 149,233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $41,990,000 after buying an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the second quarter worth $3,030,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 902,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $176,429,000 after buying an additional 458,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 8,434.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,496 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $17,866,000 after buying an additional 62,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded ESCO Technologies from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $413.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $416.50.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESE stock opened at $264.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $296.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.96. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.68 and a 1-year high of $362.15.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.08. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 24.39%.The company had revenue of $339.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.400 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is 2.64%.

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc is a St. Louis, Missouri-based provider of engineered products and services for the aerospace, defense, utility, healthcare, telecommunications and industrial markets. The company develops specialized technologies used in testing, measurement, filtration, fluid control and power-delivery applications.

Through its Aerospace & Defense segment, ESCO supplies filtration systems, fluid-control equipment, valves, electromechanical products and other components for commercial and military aircraft, spacecraft and defense platforms.

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