Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 28,342 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 28,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,684,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.8% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.7% in the second quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ LECO opened at $265.67 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $270.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 33.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $253.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.83.

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.