TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Trims Position in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 789,450 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,235 shares during the period. ESAB accounts for 1.5% of TimesSquare Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.30% of ESAB worth $91,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 3.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in ESAB by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in ESAB by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 32,775 shares of the company's stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in ESAB in the 1st quarter valued at $590,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ESAB by 1,128.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESAB traded up $4.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $129.78. 281,307 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 276,651. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $124.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.59. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.26. ESAB Corporation has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The firm had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.31%. This is an increase from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. ESAB's payout ratio is currently 9.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group raised ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ESAB has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.22.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In other ESAB news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total value of $189,630.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total transaction of $185,839.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,965,807.35. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.30% 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.