Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 531 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,043 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 531 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of ESCO Technologies worth $1,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,141,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,280 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 67,686 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,069,000 after acquiring an additional 32,026 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,011,072 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $105,596,000 after acquiring an additional 26,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sidoti lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 17th.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 1.0 %

ESCO Technologies stock opened at $105.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.17 and its 200-day moving average is $103.84. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.77 and a fifty-two week high of $118.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $218.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.44 million. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 8.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leon J. Olivier sold 900 shares of ESCO Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $90,234.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.