Bank of America Corp DE Sells 46,288 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its ESCO Technologies stake by 19.8%, selling 46,288 shares and retaining 187,754 shares valued at approximately $52.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.7% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “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, exceeding estimates by $0.08, while revenue rose 14.4% year over year to $339.03 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 187,754 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 46,288 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.72% of ESCO Technologies worth $52,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 97,963,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,938,911 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $574,234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,908 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,050,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $205,178,000 after purchasing an additional 158,949 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position 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 valued at $176,429,000 after purchasing an additional 458,980 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,821 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $123,861,000 after purchasing an additional 20,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1,204.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 432,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $91,210,000 after purchasing an additional 398,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $413.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded ESCO Technologies from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on ESCO Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ESCO Technologies has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $416.50.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of ESE opened at $295.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $324.53 and a 200 day moving average of $297.61. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $182.85 and a 1-year high of $362.15.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $341.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies's revenue 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. On average, research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

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

About ESCO Technologies

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers' critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO's solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.

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