Northern Trust Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.0%, selling 10,204 shares and now owning 498,482 shares valued at approximately $94 million.
• Lincoln Electric reported earnings of $2.60 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.32, along with a revenue of $1.09 billion for the last quarter, marking a 6.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, which will be paid on October 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 498,482 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,204 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.89% of Lincoln Electric worth $94,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 279.6% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of LECO stock traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $245.63. The company had a trading volume of 103,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 343,878. The company's fifty day moving average is $227.06 and its 200 day moving average is $204.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $249.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LECO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target 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, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.40.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric 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.