Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric by 43.3%, selling 25,507 shares and leaving 33,336 shares worth about $7.99 million.
• Lincoln Electric beat Q1 estimates — $2.50 EPS vs. $2.42 expected and $1.12B revenue vs. $1.07B — reporting record net sales, strong profitability (net margin ~12.3%, ROE ~39%), and declaring a $0.79 quarterly dividend (1.2% yield).
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $292.71 after several cuts, though some firms raised targets (KeyCorp to $340), and institutional ownership remains high at about 79.6% with large recent buys by firms like M&T Bank.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,507 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Lincoln Electric worth $7,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,041 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,691,000 after purchasing an additional 486,090 shares during the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 675.0% during the third quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 310,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,107,000 after purchasing an additional 270,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 31.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $216,946,000 after purchasing an additional 221,853 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 24.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $200,517,000 after purchasing an additional 167,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $292.71.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.5%

LECO opened at $266.25 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $261.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $179.71 and a 12 month high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.76 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, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Lincoln Electric

Here are the key news stories impacting Lincoln Electric this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both EPS and revenue — Lincoln reported $2.50 EPS vs. consensus ~$2.42 and revenue of $1.12B vs. ~$1.07B, driven by healthy volume and price/mix. The beat and year-over-year revenue growth support upside to near-term earnings momentum. Lincoln Electric Beats Q1 Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Company called it a record quarter for net sales and adjusted EPS — management highlighted record first-quarter net sales and adjusted EPS, which underpins the stronger-than-expected print and likely helped buyer demand. Business Wire: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains robust — net margin (~12.3%) and return on equity (~39%) signal strong cash conversion and operational leverage, supporting forward earnings assumptions. MarketBeat: Q1 Metrics & Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Management materials and presentation are available — the earnings slide deck and conference call provide detail on segment trends, order patterns and margin drivers; investors can review for guidance color and backlog commentary. Earnings Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst models and outlook — brokers continue modeling solid full‑year EPS (Street consensus cited around $10.76 annual EPS), so the beat helps validate those forecasts but raises expectations for execution the rest of the year. Zacks: Key Metrics vs Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and leverage to watch — shares now trade at a premium (P/E ~28.6) and the company carries moderate leverage (debt/equity ~0.78); if growth or margins slow, valuation could compress. (See company metric summaries in the earnings release and market coverage.)

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: LECO is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company's portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.

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