JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $19.19 Million Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 87.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 67,116 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.56% of ESCO Technologies worth $19,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESE. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 126.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,054,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $135,950,000 after acquiring an additional 49,577 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the third quarter worth $19,412,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 31.9% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 32,901 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,244,000 after purchasing an additional 7,951 shares in the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark upped their price target on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESE traded down $3.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.43. 14,054 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,667. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $158.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.04. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.11 and a twelve month high of $171.28. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08 and a beta of 1.07.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 9.91%. As a group, analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

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.