Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $2.45 Million Holdings in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has reduced its stake in ESAB Corporation by 44.5%, now holding approximately $2.45 million worth of shares after selling 16,900 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have generally rated ESAB positively, with a consensus target price of $138.89, reflecting upgrades from various firms, including UBS Group and Robert W. Baird.
• ESAB has recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.10, representing an annualized yield of 0.31%.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its holdings in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 44.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,040 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,900 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in ESAB were worth $2,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in ESAB by 204.8% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in ESAB by 1,128.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in ESAB by 323.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in ESAB by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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, May 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of ESAB from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ESAB news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total value of $189,630.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,881.61. The trade was a 8.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,357 shares of company stock worth $567,695 over the last quarter. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB traded down $3.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.60. 534,429 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,141. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.61. ESAB Corporation has a 12 month low of $88.54 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The stock has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This is a positive change from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.01%.

ESAB Company 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.