Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Sells 2,140 Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC cut its stake in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,525 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,140 shares during the period. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC's holdings in ESAB were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in ESAB during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ESAB by 1,128.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 467 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in ESAB by 323.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

ESAB Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ESAB traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.67. 297,919 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 276,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.91. ESAB Corporation has a one year low of $88.54 and a one year high of $135.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.53. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.31.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. ESAB had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The business had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $633.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. ESAB's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 EPS 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 issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a positive change from ESAB's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.42, for a total transaction of $189,630.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.15, for a total value of $185,839.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,965,807.35. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 target price on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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, 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.22.

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.