Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stock Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,487 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 6,665 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.18% of ESCO Technologies worth $6,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESE. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 20.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 378.8% during the 4th 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 grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 0.4 %

ESCO Technologies stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $159.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 131,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 119,370. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $152.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.35. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.11 and a 12 month high of $171.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51 and a beta of 1.11.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 10.44%. As a group, analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 0.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 7.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ESE. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark boosted their target price on 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 cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

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.