Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Trims Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric by 43.9% during Q1, now holding 7,640 shares valued at approximately $1.45 million.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Lincoln Electric's stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.40.
• Lincoln Electric recently reported strong earnings of $2.60 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 43.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,979 shares during the quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 535,434 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $100,384,000 after buying an additional 3,164 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,000. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 35,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,746,000 after purchasing an additional 5,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 695 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total transaction of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $245.83 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50-day moving average price is $225.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.01. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $247.22.

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. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Lincoln Electric's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

About Lincoln Electric

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.

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