ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,025 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of ESAB worth $3,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in ESAB by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of ESAB by 871.0% in the 4th 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 period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in ESAB in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in ESAB by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 549 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ESAB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on ESAB from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised shares of ESAB from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $123.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of ESAB from $125.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of ESAB from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $122.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.75.

ESAB Price Performance

Shares of ESAB stock traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $118.38. 324,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 278,653. ESAB Co. has a 52-week low of $88.54 and a 52-week high of $135.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $117.94 and a 200 day moving average of $121.35.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $633.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.43 million. ESAB had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 9.66%. Research analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. ESAB's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.41%.

ESAB Company 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.