Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 130,082 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 253,542 shares of the company's stock after selling 130,082 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.42% of ESAB worth $30,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,546,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $665,200,000 after acquiring an additional 20,741 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in ESAB by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,202,568 shares of the company's stock worth $264,176,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in ESAB by 3.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,692,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,028,000 after purchasing an additional 55,458 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,195,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,370,000 after purchasing an additional 34,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 104.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

ESAB Trading Up 1.9 %

ESAB stock traded up $2.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $115.28. 341,444 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 276,907. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $120.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.43. ESAB Co. has a twelve month low of $88.54 and a twelve month high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 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 analysts' expectations of $636.43 million. Research analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

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

ESAB Company 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.