Machina Capital S.A.S. Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased 1,757 shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO), valued at approximately $332,000, marking a notable new institutional investment in the company.
• Lincoln Electric reported $2.16 EPS for the latest quarter, missing the consensus estimate, while the company's revenue was $365.45 million, significantly below expectations of $974.39 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, set to be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.32% with a payout ratio of 36.99%.

Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,851,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 88.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $180.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $222.60.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO traded down $2.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $224.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 40,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,563. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $228.65.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 11.44%. The business's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.