Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stock Holdings Boosted by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.5% in Q2, now owning over $2.29 million worth of shares.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $2.60, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $1.09 billion, a 6.6% increase year-over-year.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.79 per share, set to be paid on January 15th, with an annualized yield of 1.3%.

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,049 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,227 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LECO. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 16.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,597,000 after acquiring an additional 188,104 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth about $28,548,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 147,483 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 98,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 576.6% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,913,000 after buying an additional 67,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $242.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $249.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $238.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.15.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 35.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,140,351.71. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,595,549.76. This trade represents a 18.15% 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% 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.

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