Fayez Sarofim & Co Sells 30,000 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 10.9%, selling 30,000 shares and now owning approximately 0.44% of the company, valued at about $46 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Lincoln Electric, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.40, reflecting varying degrees of confidence among research firms.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 33.71%.

Fayez Sarofim & Co trimmed its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned 0.44% of Lincoln Electric worth $46,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 4.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at $1,261,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 123.4% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $665,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of LECO stock traded down $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $239.47. 270,281 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,565. The company has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $246.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $216.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.45. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total transaction of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at $7,254,903.34. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.40.

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.