Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stake Decreased by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel has reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. by 39.6%, now owning 20,139 shares worth $4,175,000.
• Lincoln Electric is experiencing positive analyst reviews, with several firms recently upgrading their ratings and increasing target prices, including a boost from Stifel Nicolaus to $250.00.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising it to $0.79 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Carnegie Investment Counsel lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 39.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,139 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,193 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,597,000 after buying an additional 188,104 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $28,548,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 195.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,187,000 after purchasing an additional 147,483 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 24.4% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 504,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $104,589,000 after purchasing an additional 98,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 576.6% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,913,000 after purchasing an additional 67,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LECO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total value of $233,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,140,351.71. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ LECO opened at $241.81 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $249.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $238.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.67.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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