7,000 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Purchased by Mariner Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• Mariner Investment Group LLC purchased 7,000 shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. for approximately $1.45 million, marking it as the 23rd largest position in their portfolio.
• Lincoln Electric reported strong earnings results, with $2.60 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.28.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3% with a payout ratio of 33.71%.

Mariner Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,451,000. Lincoln Electric comprises about 0.5% of Mariner Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 22,146.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 291,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,211,000 after acquiring an additional 290,562 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,597,000 after acquiring an additional 188,104 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth about $28,548,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 195.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,187,000 after acquiring an additional 147,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 405,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,715,000 after purchasing an additional 137,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $236.72 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $238.20 and a 200 day moving average of $210.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.22. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $249.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.Lincoln Electric's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.33.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total value of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock worth $5,745,148. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.