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) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,352 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted 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 purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at about $110,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $2.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $236.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 299,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,602. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $249.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $235.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.72.

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 net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,511,918 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.