Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $1.29 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC invested approximately $1.29 million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, acquiring 6,808 shares during the first quarter.
• Lincoln Electric reported earnings of $2.60 per share, surpassing consensus estimates of $2.32, with a revenue of $1.09 billion for the most recent quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, set to be paid on October 15th, with an annualized yield of 1.2%.

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,597,000 after buying an additional 188,104 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 508,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $95,363,000 after acquiring an additional 115,813 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 51.2% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 405,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,715,000 after acquiring an additional 137,330 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 393,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,823,000 after acquiring an additional 21,166 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 365,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,230,000 after purchasing an additional 7,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total transaction of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO traded up $2.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $243.48. The stock had a trading volume of 184,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,070. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $230.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.22. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $249.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's 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.