ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its investment in ESAB Corporation by 57.2%, bringing its holdings to a value of $2.76 million after purchasing additional shares during the 1st quarter.
• ESAB's stock has declined 17.1% recently, trading at $109.42, while its market capitalization stands at $6.63 billion.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.10, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 57.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,666 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,610 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in ESAB were worth $2,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESAB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in ESAB by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,538,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $904,118,000 after acquiring an additional 225,345 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in ESAB by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,097,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,589,000 after acquiring an additional 318,018 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,888,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,529,000 after acquiring an additional 31,248 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,358,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,903,000 after acquiring an additional 276,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in ESAB by 101.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 880,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,605,000 after acquiring an additional 443,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Stock Performance

NYSE ESAB traded down $4.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $111.04. 406,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,831. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.27. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $93.13 and a 12-month high of $135.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $124.94 and a 200 day moving average of $122.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $715.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $670.80 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other ESAB news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total transaction of $189,630.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total transaction of $192,225.60. Following the transaction, 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 have sold 4,357 shares of company stock valued at $567,695 over the last three months. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESAB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.88.

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.