Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Makes New $11.44 Million Investment in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 85,841 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $11,435,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.33% of ESCO Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ESE. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 747.1% in 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 during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 305 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 627.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 378.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 565 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE ESE traded down $4.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $146.55. 8,376 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 127,570. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.84 and a fifty-two week high of $171.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $157.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.62.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 10.44%. Analysts predict that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is presently 7.51%.

ESCO Technologies 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.