88,809 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 88,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,375,000. Sapient Capital LLC owned about 0.16% of Lincoln Electric as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,850,000. CM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 25,909.0% in the 4th quarter. CM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 178,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,040,000 after buying an additional 178,254 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,049,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $190,853,000 after buying an additional 174,278 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,396,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 411.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 191,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,856,000 after buying an additional 154,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $222.93. The company had a trading volume of 199,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,561. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.25. The company has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.00 and a twelve month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.