Enhancing Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,293 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ESE. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 747.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $75,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.
ESCO Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %
Shares of ESE stock traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $158.92. 369,797 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,115. The stock's 50 day moving average is $150.54 and its 200-day moving average is $138.95. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31 and a beta of 1.11. 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 fifty-two week low of $97.11 and a fifty-two week high of $171.28.
ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies's payout ratio is 7.51%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages recently commented on ESE. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ESE
About ESCO Technologies
(
Free Report)
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.
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