ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Director Larry W. Solley sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $211,960.00.
ESCO Technologies stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $103.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.75. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.64 and a 52-week high of $111.75.
ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its earnings results on Sunday, February 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.10. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The company had revenue of $163.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.95 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. ESCO Technologies's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.59%.
Separately, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 10th.
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESE. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in ESCO Technologies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,483,820 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $462,818,000 after buying an additional 177,935 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 955,281 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $98,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,482 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.5% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 479,324 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,614,000 after acquiring an additional 11,764 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 176,918.9% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 364,659 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $24,443,000 after purchasing an additional 364,453 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 308,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,891,000 after purchasing an additional 91,826 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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 (USG), and RF Shielding and Test. 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.
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