Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $19.83 Million Position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,880 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 36,130 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.58% of ESCO Technologies worth $19,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of ESCO Technologies by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,054,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $135,950,000 after acquiring an additional 49,577 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ESCO Technologies by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,047,741 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $135,138,000 after purchasing an additional 18,676 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 438,536 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,563,000 after purchasing an additional 13,894 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 277.5% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 395,460 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,539,000 after purchasing an additional 290,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 299,874 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,678,000 after purchasing an additional 7,963 shares in the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ESE. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESE opened at $134.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14 and a beta of 1.13. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.69 and a 52 week high of $154.00.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.12%.

ESCO Technologies Company 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.