HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 2,195 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. by 19.1% during the first quarter, acquiring 2,195 additional shares, bringing their total holdings to 13,685 shares valued at $2,589,000.
• Several other hedge funds also adjusted their stakes in Lincoln Electric, with notable increases from Mariner LLC and Tower Research Capital LLC, contributing to hedge funds owning approximately 79.61% of the stock.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75, payable on October 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.00 and a yield of 1.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 33.71%.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,685 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,195 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 16.2% during 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 buying an additional 188,104 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 508,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $95,363,000 after purchasing an additional 115,813 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 51.2% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 405,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $76,715,000 after purchasing an additional 137,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 393,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,823,000 after purchasing an additional 21,166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $248.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 78,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $13.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $249.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.31.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.Lincoln Electric's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $231.40.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total transaction of $726,540.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. The trade was 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 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.