The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys Shares of 13,803 ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,803 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,832,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,397 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,774 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ESE. Wall Street Zen downgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $413.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Monday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on ESCO Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded ESCO Technologies from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ESCO Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $416.50.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE ESE opened at $273.41 on Tuesday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $193.68 and a one year high of $362.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $339.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $341.40 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.39% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. ESCO Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.400 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 2.64%.

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.