Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stock Position Reduced by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale cut its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 18.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,882 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 75.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 7.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 20.1% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 195.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,187,000 after acquiring an additional 147,483 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Saturday. 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 note on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.50.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total transaction of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148 in the last 90 days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $241.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $249.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

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.