TimesSquare Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 410,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,155 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned about 0.68% of ESAB worth $43,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in ESAB by 55.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in ESAB by 629.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in ESAB during the second quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 181.7% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
A number of research firms recently commented on ESAB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Loop Capital upped their target price on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on ESAB from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on ESAB from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.86.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ESAB
In related news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $630,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,429,125. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other ESAB news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total transaction of $531,877.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of ESAB 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,429,125. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773 over the last quarter. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
ESAB opened at $131.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $75.24 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $108.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.93.
ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 9.47%. The firm had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.49%.
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.
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