James Investment Research Inc. Takes $842,000 Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

James Investment Research Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,993 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 97,963,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,938,911 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $574,234,000 after buying an additional 2,938,908 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 103.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 902,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $176,429,000 after purchasing an additional 458,980 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1,204.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 432,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,210,000 after purchasing an additional 398,926 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $81,106,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 891,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $188,129,000 after purchasing an additional 183,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of ESE stock opened at $332.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $315.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.75. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.92 and a twelve month high of $362.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $309.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.88 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. 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. Research analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 2.69%.

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.