ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 778,272 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 180,875 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.29% of ESAB worth $93,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter worth $81,199,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at $52,281,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 104.3% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 839,685 shares of the company's stock worth $100,712,000 after purchasing an additional 428,770 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in ESAB by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company's stock worth $202,001,000 after buying an additional 337,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in ESAB by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,353,000 after buying an additional 190,583 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB traded up $4.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.76. 57,988 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 301,624. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.37. ESAB Co. has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $135.97. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82.

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ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.43 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. Equities analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ESAB shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.75.

ESAB Profile

ESAB Corporation engages in the formulation, development, manufacture, and supply of consumable products and equipment for use in cutting, joining, automated welding, and gas control equipment. Its comprehensive range of welding consumables includes electrodes, cored and solid wires, and fluxes using a range of specialty and other materials; and cutting consumables comprising electrodes, nozzles, shields, and tips.