Castleark Management LLC Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $48,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $290.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.22 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $266.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.