Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Purchased by BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 40.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,561,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,354,141 shares during the quarter. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.80% of Lincoln Electric worth $656,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LECO. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. United Community Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 118.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.60 on Monday, reaching $259.80. The stock had a trading volume of 124,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,812. The company has a 50-day moving average of $268.47 and a 200 day moving average of $263.38. 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 cap of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.22 and a 12-month high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 31.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. 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 price target on the stock. One equities research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: LECO is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.