61,075 Shares in ESAB Corporation $ESAB Bought by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio invested approximately $7.12 million in shares of ESAB Corporation, acquiring a total of 61,075 shares during the first quarter.
• Insider trading activity included Director Rhonda L. Jordan selling 4,067 shares at an average price of $113.05, indicating significant insider movements within the company.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, highlighting a dividend yield of 0.4% and a low payout ratio of 9.57%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 61,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,115,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.10% of ESAB at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in ESAB by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,844 shares of the company's stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 37.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 756 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 38.3% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,466 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,161,000 after purchasing an additional 17,027 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB during the first quarter valued at $590,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of ESAB by 57.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 8,610 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $141.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut ESAB from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on ESAB from $137.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital raised ESAB from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on ESAB from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ESAB currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,067 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,440 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.49, for a total value of $192,225.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,000,881.61. This trade represents a 8.76% 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 corporate insiders.

ESAB Stock Up 0.6%

ESAB stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $110.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,256,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,161. The firm's 50 day moving average is $118.99 and its 200 day moving average is $120.31. The company has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.26. ESAB Corporation has a 52-week low of $100.17 and a 52-week high of $135.97.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that ESAB Corporation will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

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.