Federated Hermes Inc. Has $28.17 Million Stock Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Federated Hermes Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 133,437 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,467 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.52% of ESCO Technologies worth $28,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 118.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 142 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ESE stock opened at $228.55 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.82. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.59 and a twelve month high of $231.64.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $286.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.39 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 25.76% and a return on equity of 12.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at ESCO Technologies

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ESE. Zacks Research upgraded ESCO Technologies to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings raised ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of ESCO Technologies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ESCO Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.50.

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.