KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 1,600 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 12.1%, selling 1,600 shares, and now holds 11,600 shares valued at approximately $2.41 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions significantly in Lincoln Electric, with Geneos Wealth Management increasing its stake by 980.8% during the 1st quarter.
• Lincoln Electric recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, representing an annual yield of 1.3% with a payout ratio of 33.71%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 12.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LECO. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during 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 in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $195,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,177 shares in the company, valued at $2,140,351.71. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on LECO. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.33.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $227.93 on Friday. 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 $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $239.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.04. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $249.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors 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 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.

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