Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 155,473 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.60% of ESCO Technologies worth $20,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESE. Barclays PLC grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 340.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,413 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,728,000 after buying an additional 34,340 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,917 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,608,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,958 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ESE. StockNews.com cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

ESCO Technologies Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:ESE opened at $181.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.34 and a 200 day moving average of $148.48. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.42 and a 52 week high of $185.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.66 and a beta of 1.19.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.10. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The business had revenue of $265.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.02%.

About ESCO Technologies

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.