Sapient Capital LLC Purchases New Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 88,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $19,375,000. Sapient Capital LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Lincoln Electric as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 151.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 239 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $222.93. 199,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 293,561. The company has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company's fifty day moving average is $245.58 and its 200 day moving average is $221.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 30.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $228.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.