26,750 Shares in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Bought by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,364,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESE. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 11,821 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,406 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 3.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 149,233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,990,000 after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,760 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,674 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 103.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 902,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $176,429,000 after purchasing an additional 458,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 8,434.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 63,496 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $17,866,000 after buying an additional 62,752 shares in the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ESE opened at $287.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $323.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.23. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $191.80 and a 12-month high of $362.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $339.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $341.40 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 24.39%.ESCO Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. ESCO Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.400 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 2.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $413.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research 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 MarketBeat, ESCO Technologies currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $416.50.

ESCO Technologies 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.