Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 12,026 Shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. $ESE

Legato Capital Management LLC reduced its position in ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) by 88.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,551 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 12,026 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ESCO Technologies were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESE. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESCO Technologies by 60.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,683 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,399 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in ESCO Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $228,000. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in ESCO Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in ESCO Technologies by 19.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 82,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $13,127,000 after buying an additional 13,648 shares in the last quarter. 95.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ESE. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of ESCO Technologies in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ESCO Technologies has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.00.

ESCO Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ESCO Technologies stock opened at $305.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.18. 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 50-day simple moving average of $300.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.98. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $174.92 and a one year high of $346.20.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $309.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.88 million. ESCO Technologies had a net margin of 24.69% and a return on equity of 12.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. 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. Research analysts expect that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 8.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Announces Dividend

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

ESCO Technologies 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.