Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 7,540 ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $904,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ESAB. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in ESAB by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 10,027 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of ESAB by 21.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,900,115 shares of the company's stock worth $202,001,000 after purchasing an additional 337,983 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in ESAB by 871.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in ESAB in the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ESAB by 47.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 903 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Stock Down 1.4%

ESAB stock traded down $1.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $123.20. The stock had a trading volume of 171,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,553. 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 1-year low of $88.54 and a 1-year high of $135.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $119.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.37. The company has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.07. ESAB had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $678.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $633.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. ESAB's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on ESAB from $109.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $123.00 to $147.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $143.00 price objective on ESAB in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on ESAB from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of ESAB 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 owns 14,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,965,807.35. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

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.