ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 189,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,510 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in ESAB were worth $22,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ESAB by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,546,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,200,000 after buying an additional 20,741 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in ESAB by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,196,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,512,000 after acquiring an additional 127,714 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,001,000 after purchasing an additional 337,983 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,692,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,028,000 after purchasing an additional 55,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,160,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,353,000 after purchasing an additional 190,583 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESAB opened at $119.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $122.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. ESAB Co. has a 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $633.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. Equities analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ESAB. 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 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on ESAB from $131.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.14.

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.