Voya Investment Management LLC Has $5.85 Million Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric by 14.1%, now owning 30,920 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million.
• Lincoln Electric's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with $2.60 EPS and a revenue of $1.09 billion, surpassing estimates of $2.32 EPS and $1.04 billion revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with an annual dividend yield of 1.3%, scheduled for payment on October 15th.

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,066 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Lincoln Electric worth $5,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 12.4% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,623 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 11.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 45,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,543,000 after purchasing an additional 4,557 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 153.1% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 58,993 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,159,000 after purchasing an additional 35,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $26,017,000 after purchasing an additional 10,961 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total value of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. This trade represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,140,351.71. The trade was a 9.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148 over the last three months. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LECO traded down $0.92 on Monday, hitting $237.37. 55,848 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 341,678. The stock's 50 day moving average is $236.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $249.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.22.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. 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 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.