Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 384 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,840 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.12% of ESCO Technologies worth $3,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 747.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 378.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 565 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in ESCO Technologies by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 287.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 775 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESE opened at $150.94 on Monday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.11 and a 1 year high of $171.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.79.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 10.44%. As a group, research analysts predict that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. 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 0.21%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 7.51%.

ESCO Technologies Company 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.