William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 9,718 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 9,718 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $19,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 3,140.0% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 162 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 188 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.00.

ESCO Technologies Stock Up 0.1%

ESCO Technologies stock opened at $295.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $297.97 and its 200-day moving average is $253.18. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.92 and a fifty-two week high of $346.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $309.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.88 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. ESCO Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. ESCO Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.000-8.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 2.69%.

About ESCO Technologies

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.