Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stock: Burton Enright Welch Raises Position

Burton Enright Welch raised its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 8.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,002 shares during the quarter. Lincoln Electric makes up approximately 0.7% of Burton Enright Welch’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Burton Enright Welch’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $6,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 1,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 9.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. DA Davidson set a $340.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.11.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $275.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.19. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $216.22 and a one year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $267.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.48.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.17. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total value of $4,051,903.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,899,031.85. The trade was a 18.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc is a manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Its offerings include arc-welding equipment and consumables, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, robotic welding solutions and related automation technologies, as well as brazing and soldering products.

Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves customers across a range of industries, including manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and transportation. Its products and services are sold in markets around the world through its international operations and distribution network.

Lincoln Electric is headquartered in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.