Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,265,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 215.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 5,336 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,775 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 102,833.3% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,088 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,170,000. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

ESE opened at $158.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31 and a beta of 1.11. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $97.11 and a one year high of $171.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.35.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 7.51%.

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.