State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.91 Million Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,353 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,268 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of ESCO Technologies worth $1,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in ESCO Technologies by 53.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,043 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after buying an additional 4,526 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 990 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 180,352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $23,262,000 after acquiring an additional 40,268 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in ESCO Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $786,000. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ESE shares. Benchmark lifted their price target on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE ESE opened at $159.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.35 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.11 and a 12 month high of $171.28.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 10.44%. On average, analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.51%.

About ESCO Technologies

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.