ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Position Reduced by Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lessened its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 36.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,481 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 15,524 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP owned about 0.11% of ESCO Technologies worth $3,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 277.5% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 395,460 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $41,539,000 after purchasing an additional 290,711 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,632,000. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,455,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 35.5% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 185,850 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $19,522,000 after acquiring an additional 48,693 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 18.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 283,266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $29,754,000 after acquiring an additional 43,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ESE shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESE traded down $2.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $148.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 125,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,813. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50 and a beta of 1.08. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.69 and a fifty-two week high of $154.00.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.12%.

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.