Sterling Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 43.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,485 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,927 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESE. 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 worth $574,234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938,908 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,050,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $205,178,000 after purchasing an additional 158,949 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 103.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 902,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $176,429,000 after purchasing an additional 458,980 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,821 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $123,861,000 after purchasing an additional 20,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 398,926 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated 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 lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:ESE opened at $340.57 on Thursday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $174.92 and a one year high of $362.15. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $315.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.45.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.01. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm had revenue of $309.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The company’s revenue 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. Equities research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 2.69%.

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.