New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 1,506 ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,506 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $76,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 1.8% during 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. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its position in ESCO Technologies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,958 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Benchmark boosted their target price on 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 reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 1.3 %

ESE opened at $160.76 on Thursday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.11 and a 12 month high of $171.28. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.88 and a 200 day moving average of $141.44.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 9.91%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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%.

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.