Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 17.5% in the first quarter, bringing its total to 7,194 shares valued at approximately $1.36 million.
• Recent insider transactions included EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry selling 3,000 shares and EVP Gabriel Bruno selling 7,305 shares, decreasing their ownership by 13.53% and 19.62% respectively.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 to be paid on October 15, representing an annual yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 33.71%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,194 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $638,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 35,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,746,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 508,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $95,363,000 after buying an additional 115,813 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 752.2% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 10,107 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 8,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $575,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $242.63. The company had a trading volume of 263,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 296,180. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $249.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average price is $228.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.31. The firm has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. 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 earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.40.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the company's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.