38,414 Shares in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Bought by American Capital Management Inc.

American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 38,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,809,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 97,963,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,938,911 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $574,234,000 after buying an additional 2,938,908 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,050,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $205,178,000 after buying an additional 158,949 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 902,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $176,429,000 after acquiring an additional 458,980 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,821 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $123,861,000 after acquiring an additional 20,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 1,204.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 432,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,210,000 after acquiring an additional 398,926 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESE opened at $323.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $320.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.06. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.09. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.92 and a 12 month high of $362.15.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $309.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. ESCO Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESE. Weiss Ratings upgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on ESCO Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $410.00.

About ESCO Technologies

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.