Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Stake in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,696 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 757 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 170.4% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 53,522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,622,000 after acquiring an additional 33,728 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 1.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,372,850 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $144,204,000 after buying an additional 16,152 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 76.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,216 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,905,000 after buying an additional 24,305 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ESCO Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth $15,632,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 106,136 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens lifted their price objective on ESCO Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th.

ESCO Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ESCO Technologies stock opened at $127.10 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $119.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.15. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.59 and a 52 week high of $130.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $260.78 million during the quarter. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 8.40%.

ESCO Technologies 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.