ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 15,942.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,074 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 87,525 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.15% of ESAB worth $10,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Michels Family Financial LLC purchased a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth about $723,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in ESAB by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 167,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,031,000 after acquiring an additional 20,430 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth approximately $671,000. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its holdings in ESAB by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,625 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted 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, UBS Group upgraded shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total transaction of $185,839.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,965,807.35. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

ESAB Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE ESAB opened at $126.80 on Friday. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $88.54 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $120.21 and a 200-day moving average of $122.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.31.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $633.66 million. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This is an increase from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is 9.01%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESAB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.