Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Has $3.03 Million Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lowered its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,736 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 4,745 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP owned about 0.09% of ESCO Technologies worth $3,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position 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 last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 20.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 378.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 565 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 2.8 %

NYSE ESE traded down $4.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.07. 114,804 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,348. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.11 and a 1-year high of $171.28.

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

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.51%.

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, 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.