TD Asset Management Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc has reduced its stake in ESAB Corporation by 12.4%, selling 64,986 shares, and now owns about 0.76% of the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Vanguard Group, have recently increased their positions in ESAB, indicating continued interest in the company's stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy for ESAB, with Evercore ISI raising the price target to $125 from $120, and UBS upgrading to a buy rating with a target of $147.

TD Asset Management Inc trimmed its stake in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 458,232 shares of the company's stock after selling 64,986 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.76% of ESAB worth $53,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 204.8% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of ESAB in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 1,128.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 323.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of ESAB 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total transaction of $185,839.55. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,965,807.35. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ESAB shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.89.

ESAB Price Performance

ESAB stock traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $131.78. 515,203 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,163. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.17. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. ESAB Corporation has a 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $135.97.

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

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This is a positive change from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.01%.

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.