Heartland Advisors Inc. Makes New $5.53 Million Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,526,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $281.82 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 stock has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.22 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $266.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.97.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

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.