Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 15.0%, selling 259,779 shares and now owning 1,475,748 shares worth approximately $279 million.
• Lincoln Electric recently reported earnings of $2.60 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue increasing by 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.2% based on current stock prices.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,475,748 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 259,779 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 2.64% of Lincoln Electric worth $279,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 36.1% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president 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. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO traded down $1.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $243.61. 237,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 369,123. The business's 50 day moving average price is $219.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $246.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's 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.