BNP Paribas Financial Markets Takes $2.97 Million Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 24,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,970,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in ESAB by 46.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 10,027 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 21.6% in 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. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in ESAB by 871.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ESAB traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.05. The company had a trading volume of 8,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,478. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $119.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.49. ESAB Co. has a 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The company has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $678.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.66 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The business's revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESAB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upgraded ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.22.

Insider Transactions at ESAB

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,965,807.35. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.