Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $69.23 Million Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, raising its ownership to approximately 0.66% valued at $69.23 million after acquiring 7,656 additional shares.
• Lincoln Electric reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.32, with a revenue of $1.09 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with a payout date of October 15th, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.3%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,656 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.66% of Lincoln Electric worth $69,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% in 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 in the last quarter. 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 purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of Lincoln Electric 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LECO traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $239.80. 17,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,302. The firm's 50 day moving average is $221.39 and its 200-day moving average is $202.29. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $246.83. The company has a market cap of $13.23 billion, a PE ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.40.

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.