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

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,043 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 531 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $1,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,491,000. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,022,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $119,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,871 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in ESCO Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,239,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 14.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,079 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 89.8% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 32,026 shares during the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESCO Technologies Trading Up 1.0 %

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

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.05). ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $218.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ESE. StockNews.com lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 17th. Sidoti lowered shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Leon J. Olivier sold 900 shares of ESCO Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total value of $90,234.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is 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.