Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,611 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $2,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 4,125 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,874 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,678,000 after buying an additional 7,963 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 31.9% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position 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 buying an additional 49,577 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESE. StockNews.com lowered ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ESE opened at $158.92 on Monday. The firm 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 quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $97.11 and a 52-week high of $171.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $150.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.12.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.