Hancock Whitney Corp Has $862,000 Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 24.6%, now holding 4,559 shares valued at approximately $862,000.
• GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its position by 22,146.5%, now owning 291,874 shares valued at $55.2 million, indicating strong investor interest in Lincoln Electric.
• Lincoln Electric plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share on October 15th, 2023, with a current yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 33.71%.

Hancock Whitney Corp lessened its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,491 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 279.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $3.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $241.94. The company had a trading volume of 203,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 340,478. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.22. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $249.19. The firm's 50 day moving average is $233.54 and its 200-day moving average is $206.80.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price objective 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. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% 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 insiders.

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.