ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $41,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,397 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in ESCO Technologies by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 9.7% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 3.7% in the third quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in ESCO Technologies by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,774 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on ESCO Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $420.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.00.

ESCO Technologies Stock Down 1.4%

ESE opened at $317.76 on Friday. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.92 and a fifty-two week high of $362.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $317.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.09.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.01. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $309.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. ESCO Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.69%.

ESCO Technologies Company Profile

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.