Vise Technologies Inc. Buys New Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $656,165,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,824,077 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,175,000 after purchasing an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,280,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,767,000 after buying an additional 158,305 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $281.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $266.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.97. 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 quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lincoln Electric

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.