ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Shares Acquired by Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 87.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 87,419 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 40,786 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned 0.34% of ESCO Technologies worth $18,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,589 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 9.7% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,046 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 786 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 118.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 77 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 analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. CJS Securities raised shares of ESCO Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.50.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 1.7%

ESE stock opened at $223.09 on Friday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.59 and a 12-month high of $229.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $207.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.43.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.19. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 25.76% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $286.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. ESCO Technologies’s revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. ESCO Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.77%.

Insider Transactions at ESCO Technologies

In other news, Director Robert J. Phillippy sold 3,700 shares of ESCO Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.53, for a total transaction of $823,361.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,450,673.07. The trade was a 36.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vinod M. Khilnani sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total value of $653,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,461,819.32. The trade was a 12.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 21,699 shares of company stock valued at $4,778,734 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.