The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $10.53 Million Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 39,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,530,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Lincoln Electric at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 40.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,561,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $656,165,000 after buying an additional 5,354,141 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,077 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,175,000 after acquiring an additional 6,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,811,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.0%

LECO stock traded up $2.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $259.80. 124,872 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,812. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.22 and a 52-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. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.79 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 31.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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