Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stock Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,238 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 10,249 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.14% of ESCO Technologies worth $5,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESE. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 747.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 150.0% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 627.1% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ESE shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. 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 research note on Friday, May 9th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESE traded down $0.51 on Tuesday, reaching $190.92. The stock had a trading volume of 34,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,766. The business's 50-day moving average price is $181.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.86. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.55 and a 12-month high of $196.13. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.83 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.02%.

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.