Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Takes $1.20 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. has invested $1.20 million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, acquiring 6,340 shares during the first quarter.
• Lincoln Electric reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.60 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and showed a year-over-year revenue increase of 6.6%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.00 and a yield of 1.2%.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,199,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 576.6% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,913,000 after buying an additional 67,187 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,349,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Alamea Verwaltungs GmbH bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at $543,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded up $2.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $241.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 340,388. The company has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $233.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.80. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $249.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,254,903.34. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total transaction of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company 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 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.33.

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.