KBC Group NV Cuts Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 39.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 936 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 279.6% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 619.3% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 132.9% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $220.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $249.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.24. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 1.4%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,140,351.71. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp increased their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.00.

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.