Vise Technologies Inc. Invests $1.05 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $1,431,181,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $956,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,077 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 72.1% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 800,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $199,395,000 after buying an additional 335,470 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.0%

Lincoln Electric stock traded up $2.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $259.80. The stock had a trading volume of 124,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,812. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 twelve month low of $216.22 and a twelve month high of $310.00.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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