Sapient Capital LLC Buys 65 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $16,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $496,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 358,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $5,623,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $203.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $222.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $187.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.30.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The company had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.