Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stock Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 253,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 130,082 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in ESAB were worth $30,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 70.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in ESAB by 871.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in ESAB by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB stock opened at $107.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.37. ESAB Co. has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.43 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESAB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised ESAB from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price target for the company from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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 price target on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of ESAB from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of ESAB in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.75.

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.