Premier Fund Managers Ltd Cuts Stock Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lessened its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,810 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,823 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESE. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies during the third quarter valued at $93,728,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 1,204.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 432,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $91,210,000 after purchasing an additional 398,926 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 891,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $188,129,000 after purchasing an additional 183,900 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 311,910 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $65,847,000 after purchasing an additional 149,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 186,455 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,363,000 after purchasing an additional 98,042 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ESE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.00.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

ESE opened at $336.05 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.18. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.74 and a 52-week high of $346.20.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $289.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.30 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.1 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Company 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.