Quadrature Capital Ltd Boosts Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 64.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,520 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $33,226,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 5,817.4% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 212,433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $24,861,000 after acquiring an additional 208,843 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,328,000. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $9,239,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,491,000. 95.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

ESE stock opened at $103.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $105.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.24. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.59 and a 1-year high of $118.60.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $249.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.15 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 8.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 8.40%.

ESCO Technologies 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.