ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Shares Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al decreased its position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 48.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,750 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 58.8% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 141,419 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $29,855,000 after buying an additional 52,379 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 87.5% in the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 87,419 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,455,000 after buying an additional 40,786 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 59.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 86,026 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,161,000 after buying an additional 32,069 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 34.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,965 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after buying an additional 7,449 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 64.9% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 12,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,721,000 after buying an additional 5,073 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESCO Technologies has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE ESE opened at $289.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $295.00 and a 200-day moving average of $250.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.18. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.92 and a 52-week high of $346.20.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $309.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $307.88 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. ESCO Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 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 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.69%.

About ESCO Technologies

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.