Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 8.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 383,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,225 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in ESAB were worth $40,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 55.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 12,140.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 629.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the second quarter worth about $92,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE ESAB opened at $127.54 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.31. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.37. ESAB Co. has a 1-year low of $76.08 and a 1-year high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 9.47%. The business had revenue of $673.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI cut ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital raised their target price on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of ESAB from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total transaction of $7,269,395.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,627,789.92. This trade represents a 52.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $630,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,125. This trade represents a 30.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

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.