United Services Automobile Association Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, acquiring 3,648 shares valued at approximately $694,000 in the first quarter.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, including EVP Gabriel Bruno selling 7,305 shares worth $1.77 million, and EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry selling 3,000 shares for $726,540, indicating a decrease in their ownership in the company.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Lincoln Electric's rating from "buy" to "strong-buy," with price objectives ranging from $250 to $280, reflecting positive market sentiment around the stock.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $694,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $110,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total transaction of $726,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,692 shares of company stock worth $5,511,918 in the last three months. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $3.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $239.13. The stock had a trading volume of 214,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,400. The company's 50-day moving average price is $235.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.50. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.22. 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 fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $249.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The firm's quarterly 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 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given 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 is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.33.

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.