ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.7% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,250 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 5.2% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 7.1% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 25.6% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 917 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 0.9% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Leon J. Olivier sold 900 shares of ESCO Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $90,234.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE ESE opened at $97.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 1.15. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $89.77 and a 52-week high of $118.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $218.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.44 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 9.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 4.2 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 8.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ESE. Sidoti cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 17th.

ESCO Technologies 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.