Fmr LLC Sells 400,284 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

FMR LLC lessened its position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,796,238 shares of the company's stock after selling 400,284 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 2.97% of ESAB worth $215,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of ESAB by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in ESAB by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,409,000 after buying an additional 13,897 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,195,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,370,000 after acquiring an additional 34,992 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 778,272 shares of the company's stock worth $93,346,000 after acquiring an additional 180,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,965 shares of the company's stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

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ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.34. The stock had a trading volume of 188,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,179. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $119.94 and its 200 day moving average is $120.55. ESAB Co. has a 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $135.97.

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

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESAB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of ESAB from $125.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.75.

About ESAB

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.