Vident Advisory LLC Invests $256,000 in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC invested approximately $256,000 in Lincoln Electric Holdings, acquiring 1,352 shares during the first quarter, amidst a trend of increasing investments from other hedge funds.
• Lincoln Electric reported a quarterly earnings of $2.60 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenue up 6.6% year-over-year at $1.09 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.00 and a yield of 1.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 33.71%.

Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,352 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $238.92 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $249.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $13.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $233.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.80.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LECO. Roth Capital began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $239.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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