Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Sells 4,745 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP cut its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,736 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 4,745 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP owned about 0.09% of ESCO Technologies worth $3,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 20.9% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 6,779 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 5.3% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESE has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE ESE opened at $158.92 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.35. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $97.11 and a one year high of $171.28.

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

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.51%.

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.