Public Sector Pension Investment Board Has $13.02 Million Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. by 27.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately $13.02 million worth of shares.
• Analysts have mixed views on ESCO Technologies, with Benchmark raising its price target to $200.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold."
• ESCO Technologies recently announced a $0.08 quarterly dividend to be paid on October 16th, representing a yield of 0.2% and a payout ratio of 7.21%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 27.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,850 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 17,711 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.32% of ESCO Technologies worth $13,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,973,925 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $473,211,000 after purchasing an additional 66,392 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $90,067,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 152.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 380,104 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $50,634,000 after buying an additional 229,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 315,479 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $50,199,000 after acquiring an additional 9,402 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 297,264 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $39,599,000 after buying an additional 19,465 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESE shares. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESE traded down $3.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $184.47. 229,889 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 180,943. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.56. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.30 and a 12 month high of $201.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $296.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.23 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is presently 7.21%.

ESCO Technologies Company 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.