William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $19.11 Million Stock Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management reduced its ESCO Technologies stake by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 97,783 shares valued at about $19.1 million.
• ESCO Technologies reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.91 versus $1.90 expected and revenue of $309.34 million, up 33.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally bullish, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $400; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share.

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 9,718 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of ESCO Technologies worth $19,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESE. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $400.00.

ESCO Technologies Trading Up 0.1%

ESE opened at $295.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.18. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.92 and a 12 month high of $346.20. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $297.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 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 analysts' expectations of $307.88 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm's revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is currently 2.69%.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

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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