Swiss National Bank Sells 2,100 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 1.9% during the first quarter, ending with approximately 109,400 shares valued at about $20.7 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Champlain Investment Partners and Balyasny Asset Management, have significantly increased their holdings in Lincoln Electric, indicating strong investor interest.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75, set to be paid on October 15, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Lincoln Electric worth $20,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,597,000 after purchasing an additional 188,104 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 726,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $136,124,000 after purchasing an additional 75,651 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $110,062,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 535,434 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 purchasing an additional 115,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LECO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.40.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded down $1.84 on Thursday, hitting $243.61. The stock had a trading volume of 237,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,123. The stock has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.21. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $219.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.68. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $246.83.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%. 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 firm earned $2.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 value of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total value of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by 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.