2,612 Shares in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESAB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in ESAB by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,424,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,316,000 after purchasing an additional 653,377 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ESAB in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,110,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in ESAB in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,277,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in ESAB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,174,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 466,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,595,000 after purchasing an additional 34,161 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ESAB opened at $122.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.34 and a 200 day moving average of $104.10. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $76.08 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $673.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.50 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 9.47%. ESAB’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. ESAB’s payout ratio is 7.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital upped their price target on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $144.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on ESAB from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded ESAB from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ESAB news, CFO Kevin J. Johnson sold 5,044 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $630,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,429,125. The trade was a 30.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total value of $531,877.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,418 shares of company stock worth $8,431,773 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.20% 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.