Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 298 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lowered its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE – Get Rating) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,623 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 354.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 737 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 31.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 835 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 323.4% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,265 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ESE shares. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of ESCO Technologies from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 21st.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ESE stock opened at $88.58 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.03 and a 12 month high of $101.52.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $205.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.47 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 8.36%. The business’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 31st. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.73%.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

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ESCO Technologies, Inc is a producer of engineered products and systems, which engages in the provision of utility, industrial, aerospace, and commercial applications. It operates through the Aerospace & Defense (A&D), RF Shielding and Test, and Utility Solutions Group (USG) segments. The A&D segment designs and manufactures specialty filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications, unique filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites, custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines, products and systems to reduce vibration and/or acoustic signatures and otherwise reduce or obscure a vessel’s signature, and other communications, sealing, surface control and hydrodynamic related applications to enhance U.S.