Versor Investments LP Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, purchasing 9,536 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million in the first quarter.
• Insider sales were reported, including EVP Gabriel Bruno selling 7,305 shares at an average price of $242.42, leading to a nearly 20% decrease in his holdings.
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 33.71%.

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,536 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,804,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,626 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,334,000 after buying an additional 22,899 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 726,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,124,000 after purchasing an additional 75,651 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on 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 upped their price objective on 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 issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $231.40.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock traded up $6.4050 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $244.5250. The stock had a trading volume of 58,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,157. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $223.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.12. 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 one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $246.83. The firm has a market cap of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of Lincoln Electric 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.