Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 152.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 380,104 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229,601 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $50,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 378.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 565 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ESE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 4.8 %

NYSE ESE opened at $141.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.26 and a beta of 1.11. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.11 and a 12 month high of $171.28. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $155.36 and a 200-day moving average of $141.77.

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

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.51%.

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.