Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 59,080 Shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB - Free Report) by 29.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,934 shares of the company's stock after selling 59,080 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of ESAB worth $14,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ESAB during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 55.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 410 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in ESAB by 629.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 613 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in ESAB by 12,140.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ESAB during the third quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors own 91.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ESAB. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of ESAB from an "in-line" rating to an "underperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $102.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of ESAB from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on ESAB in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut ESAB from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Shyam Kambeyanda sold 59,120 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.96, for a total transaction of $7,269,395.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,902 shares in the company, valued at $6,627,789.92. This trade represents a 52.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rhonda L. Jordan sold 4,254 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.03, for a total transaction of $531,877.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,418 shares of company stock valued at $8,431,773. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ESAB Price Performance

NYSE ESAB traded down $1.33 on Friday, hitting $121.41. 130,292 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,949. ESAB Co. has a 52 week low of $82.44 and a 52 week high of $135.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $124.99 and a 200-day moving average of $108.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.34.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $673.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts expect that ESAB Co. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. 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.