Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 12,026 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 88.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,551 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 12,026 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in 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 worth $574,234,000 after buying an additional 2,938,908 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the third quarter worth $93,728,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 1,204.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 432,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,210,000 after buying an additional 398,926 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 26.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 891,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $188,129,000 after purchasing an additional 183,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 110.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 186,455 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,363,000 after purchasing an additional 98,042 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:ESE opened at $305.59 on Friday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.92 and a twelve month high of $346.20. The company has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.98. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.01. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 24.69%.The business had revenue of $309.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

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.