Captrust Financial Advisors Buys 4,119 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 83.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,077 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,119 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in ESAB were worth $1,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESAB. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in ESAB by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 116,856 shares of the company's stock worth $14,016,000 after acquiring an additional 8,113 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter worth $2,970,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth $346,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 138.8% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,573,000 after buying an additional 17,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ESAB news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the company'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 value of $185,839.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,965,807.35. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $129.60. 175,002 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,494. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. ESAB Co. has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $135.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $633.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. ESAB's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ESAB shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price target on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.22.

About ESAB

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.