ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lowered its stake in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 914,447 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,914 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 1.51% of ESAB worth $109,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ESAB during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $192,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in ESAB by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,400 shares of the company's stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ESAB by 55.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in ESAB by 24.8% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of ESAB by 2.8% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 17,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ESAB. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $144.00 price target (up previously from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on ESAB from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lowered ESAB from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on ESAB in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.57.

ESAB Stock Performance

ESAB stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $121.80. The stock had a trading volume of 37,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,225. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.36. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $87.12 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.92.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. ESAB's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.49%.

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.