Aigen Investment Management LP Makes New Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP has purchased 1,375 shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. valued at approximately $260,000, as part of a growing trend of institutional investors acquiring positions in the company.
• Insider selling was reported, with two executives, Jennifer I. Ansberry and Gabriel Bruno, collectively selling over 10,000 shares, leading to notable decreases in their ownership percentages.
• Analysts show mixed ratings for Lincoln Electric, with recent upgrades from KeyCorp and Wall Street Zen providing a positive outlook, while Robert W. Baird has downgraded its price target.

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,375 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 36.1% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.7%

Lincoln Electric stock traded up $1.6250 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $239.7250. 25,930 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,377. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.29. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $246.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric 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.