ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Shares Sold by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC trimmed its position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 51.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,852 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 18,810 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $5,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,397 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 9.7% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.7% in the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,774 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESE opened at $323.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.45. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $174.92 and a one year high of $362.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $320.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.06.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.01. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $309.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. ESCO Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.250 EPS. Analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESE has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc is a diversified manufacturer of engineered products and systems designed to meet customers’ critical performance requirements in the test, measurement, control, and filtration of data, fluids, and gases. The company serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and communication network sectors. ESCO’s solutions are tailored to environments where reliability, precision and regulatory compliance are paramount.

Operating through multiple business segments, ESCO Technologies delivers test and measurement instruments such as RF and microwave components, signal distribution systems, and integrated test enclosures that support defense and aerospace programs.