Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 746.1% during the first quarter, holding 63,522 shares now valued at approximately $12 million.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Lincoln Electric, with Robert W. Baird lowering their price target to $212 while KeyCorp raised theirs to $280, resulting in an average target price of $231.40.
• Lincoln Electric recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.2%, paid to shareholders of record as of September 30th.

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 746.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,522 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 56,014 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.11% of Lincoln Electric worth $12,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,208 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ LECO traded down $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $241.52. The stock had a trading volume of 129,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,881. The company has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $229.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.53. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $249.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three research 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.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. This trade represents 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 Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

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.