Gotham Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 51.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in ESAB by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 871.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESAB by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $185,839.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,965,807.35. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.22.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB traded down $3.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $125.57. 150,883 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,044. The stock's 50-day moving average is $119.15 and its 200-day moving average is $122.49. The firm has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 twelve month low of $88.54 and a twelve month high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. This is a boost from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is 9.01%.

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.