Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 27.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 403,286 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 148,812 shares during the period. ESCO Technologies makes up about 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.56% of ESCO Technologies worth $64,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $5,688,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $427,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $799,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $310,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE ESE traded up $3.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $191.36. 98,864 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 166,866. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.96 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $186.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.33. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.70 and a 12-month high of $198.34.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.10. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 11.01% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $265.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.96 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. ESCO Technologies's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

About ESCO Technologies

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.