ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Sold by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 51.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,711 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,243 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in ESAB were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ESAB. Ellevest Inc. lifted its position in shares of ESAB by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 9,885 shares of the company's stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,801 shares of the company's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in ESAB by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,056 shares of the company's stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in ESAB by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 5,660 shares of the company's stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESAB has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group upgraded ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on ESAB in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESAB currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.22.

ESAB Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of ESAB stock traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $123.20. 171,768 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,007. The stock's 50 day moving average is $119.39 and its 200-day moving average is $122.51. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. ESAB Co. has a fifty-two week low of $88.54 and a fifty-two week 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $678.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $633.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is an increase from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total value of $185,839.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,965,807.35. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.