American Century Companies Inc. Has $48.60 Million Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 11.7%, acquiring a total of 256,909 shares valued at approximately $48.6 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Barclays PLC, which raised its position by 85.2%, have adjusted their positions in Lincoln Electric, indicating a broader interest from institutional investors.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.2%, with the next payment set for October 15.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 256,909 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,898 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.46% of Lincoln Electric worth $48,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 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 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LECO. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.40.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $7.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $245.25. The stock had a trading volume of 187,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,232. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $224.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.48. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $246.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date 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.