William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 35,917 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 258,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 35,917 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.00% of ESCO Technologies worth $34,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $323,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,038 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,611 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,754,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on ESE shares. StockNews.com upgraded ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Benchmark upped their target price on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESE opened at $155.57 on Wednesday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $97.11 and a 52-week high of $171.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 36.52 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.19.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 10.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 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 0.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.51%.

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.