F M Investments LLC Has $2.94 Million Stock Holdings in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB)

F M Investments LLC cut its position in ESAB Co. (NYSE:ESAB) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,400 shares during the period. ESAB accounts for approximately 1.7% of F M Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. F M Investments LLC owned about 0.06% of ESAB worth $2,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of ESAB by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,892,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,077,000 after buying an additional 566,224 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in ESAB by 6,624.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 379,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,836,000 after purchasing an additional 373,441 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in ESAB by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,376,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,672,000 after purchasing an additional 276,558 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in ESAB during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,502,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in ESAB by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 489,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,404,000 after purchasing an additional 64,715 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ESAB Stock Performance

Shares of ESAB stock traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.25. 170,282 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,770. ESAB Co. has a 12 month low of $55.37 and a 12 month high of $114.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.54.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $689.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $644.51 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 17.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ESAB Co. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. ESAB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rajiv Vinnakota sold 856 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $85,172.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,510.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Rajiv Vinnakota sold 856 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $85,172.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,510.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,465 shares of ESAB stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.28, for a total transaction of $741,125.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,361,918.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,833 shares of company stock valued at $1,074,985. 7.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ESAB shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on ESAB from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on ESAB from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ESAB from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $111.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.75.

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.