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

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 4.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at about $1,261,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 123.4% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter worth about $665,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter worth about $225,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the 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 owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.40.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ LECO traded down $6.34 on Friday, reaching $237.27. The stock had a trading volume of 290,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,393. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 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. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $246.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.00.

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 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 business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS 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 issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

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.