SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stock Position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,291 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,212 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in ESAB were worth $2,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in ESAB by 871.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 301 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of ESAB in the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in ESAB by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 11,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ESAB shares. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $144.00 price target (up from $138.00) on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of ESAB from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.57.

ESAB Trading Up 0.0 %

ESAB stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $123.82. The company had a trading volume of 213,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,407. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.10 and a 200 day moving average of $112.30. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $85.79 and a 12 month high of $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that ESAB Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total value of $7,269,395.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 53,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,627,789.92. The trade was a 52.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sold a total of 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773 over the last three months. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.