Freestone Grove Partners LP Purchases Shares of 360,549 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 360,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,729,000. Lincoln Electric makes up approximately 0.6% of Freestone Grove Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned about 0.66% of Lincoln Electric as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,431,181,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $956,360,000 after buying an additional 3,824,077 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $52,700,000. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,811,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $259.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,812. The company has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.22 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $268.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.38.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 31.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.