Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 700 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 350.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 29,840 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,975,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 125,266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $16,687,000 after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $267,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 50,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,754,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESE. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective 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 Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ESE opened at $158.15 on Friday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $101.32 and a one year 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 market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.12 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.53.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.