Vanguard Group Inc. Has $642.32 Million Stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,513,478 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,626 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.09% of ESAB worth $642,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,409,000 after purchasing an additional 13,897 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,532 shares of the company's stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ESAB by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in ESAB by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,506 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in ESAB by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 47,627 shares of the company's stock worth $5,713,000 after buying an additional 16,114 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.05, for a total value of $459,774.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,000,881.61. This represents a 8.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,007 shares of company stock valued at $841,630. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ESAB Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of ESAB stock traded down $1.24 on Friday, reaching $110.44. 280,704 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,804. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. ESAB Corporation has a one year low of $93.15 and a one year high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.05.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESAB has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.