GW&K Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,122 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 0.39% of Lincoln Electric worth $50,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 4.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,478,000 after buying an additional 72,826 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $354,063,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,558,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,167,000 after purchasing an additional 83,035 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $141,550,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,691,000 after purchasing an additional 486,090 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, February 13th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $282.62 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $268.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.55. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.91%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.