Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Acquired by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. by 283.3% during the first quarter, now owning 7,479 shares valued at approximately $1.415 million.
• Several institutional investors have also increased their holdings in Lincoln Electric, with aggregate ownership by institutional investors now at 79.61%.
• Lincoln Electric recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.2%, to be paid on October 15th.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 283.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,528 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,062,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15,932.5% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,118,000 after purchasing an additional 334,582 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22,146.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 291,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,211,000 after purchasing an additional 290,562 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,597,000 after purchasing an additional 188,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,548,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.1460 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $239.2460. 52,959 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,545. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.21. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $246.83. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $221.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.29.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total transaction 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 $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.40.

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.