Royal Bank of Canada Has $10.35 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 2.1% in the first quarter, holding a total of 54,709 shares valued at approximately $10.35 million.
• Investment analysts have raised their price targets for Lincoln Electric, with KeyCorp setting a target of $280.00 and Roth Capital at $279.00, reflecting a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Lincoln Electric recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75, yielding about 1.2%, payable on October 15th to investors of record.

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.10% of Lincoln Electric worth $10,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 75.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ LECO traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, reaching $234.28. The stock had a trading volume of 343,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,353. 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 cap of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $236.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LECO. KeyCorp lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.