Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 9,402 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,479 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,402 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.22% of ESCO Technologies worth $50,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 152.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 380,104 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $50,634,000 after buying an additional 229,601 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 18,682.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 107,247 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $17,065,000 after buying an additional 106,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,973,925 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $473,211,000 after buying an additional 66,392 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,287,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,688,000. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ESE shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of ESCO Technologies from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

ESE stock opened at $184.47 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.55 and a beta of 1.23. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.30 and a 1 year high of $201.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $296.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.23 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 10.37%. ESCO Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.21%.

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.