Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 79,997 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Lincoln Electric as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $656,165,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased 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 worth $956,360,000 after buying an additional 3,824,077 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 6,070 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 14.1% in 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 period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $276.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $265.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.86. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.22 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by 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.