Norris Perne & French LLP MI Acquires New Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Norris Perne & French LLP MI acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,431,181,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 3,824,077 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $52,700,000. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $44,811,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $26,148,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $255.96 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.22 and a 1 year high of $310.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $268.32 and a 200-day moving average of $264.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $271.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.78.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.