Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,880,173 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.16% of ESCO Technologies worth $300,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 3.4% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,747,370 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $187,838,000 after purchasing an additional 91,085 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 1.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,343,532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $93,942,000 after purchasing an additional 21,496 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 2.6% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,011,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $105,596,000 after purchasing an additional 26,040 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 996,526 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $73,185,000 after purchasing an additional 8,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 498,776 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sidoti cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 17th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon J. Olivier sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $90,234.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 2.6 %

ESE opened at $105.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.77 and a 1-year high of $118.60. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.44 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.16.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $218.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.44 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 8.89%.

About ESCO Technologies

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.