UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $20.03 Million Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,009 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,430 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.28% of ESAB worth $20,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ESAB by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $122.83. 251,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,145. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 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. The company has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $119.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.20.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $633.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 9.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Olivier Biebuyck sold 1,417 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 $1,965,807.35. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.