Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stake Boosted by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 20.1%, bringing its holdings to 21,841 shares valued at $4.13 million.
• Research firms have upgraded their ratings for Lincoln Electric, with KeyCorp raising the price target from $250 to $280 and Roth Capital initiating coverage with a price objective of $279.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, set to be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 1.2%.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 20.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,841 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% in the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at $110,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ LECO traded down $3.71 on Friday, hitting $239.13. 214,868 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,602. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $249.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.22. The company's 50-day moving average price is $235.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.51.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm 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. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,692 shares of company stock worth $5,511,918. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. Roth Capital started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. 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. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.33.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.