Valmark Advisers Inc. Has $903,000 Holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,779 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ESE. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,043 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 990 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in ESCO Technologies by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 106,760 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $13,770,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 28.7% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 180,352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,262,000 after acquiring an additional 40,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 7.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

ESCO Technologies Trading Down 2.2 %

ESCO Technologies stock opened at $160.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76 and a beta of 1.13. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $97.11 and a one year high of $167.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.74.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 10.44%. On average, analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ESE shares. Benchmark upped their target price on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded ESCO Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th.

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.