Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors cut its ESCO Technologies stake by 8.4% in the first quarter, selling 58,719 shares and leaving it with 636,505 shares worth about $179.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is still constructive, with analysts giving ESE a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $410, while JPMorgan initiated coverage with an “Overweight” rating and a $420 target.
• ESCO reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it raised guidance for fiscal 2026; the stock recently traded at $327.56, near its 52-week high.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 636,505 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 58,719 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.46% of ESCO Technologies worth $179,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,821 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,406 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in ESCO Technologies by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,760 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in ESCO Technologies by 3.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 149,233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $41,990,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,171,000. Finally, Freemont Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $2,911,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESCO Technologies stock opened at $327.56 on Friday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.92 and a fifty-two week high of $362.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $320.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.45.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $309.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.88 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 24.69%.The business's revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 2.69%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.