Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Holdings Lifted by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. recently increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 0.9%, now owning approximately 0.37% of the company, valued at $39.36 million.
• Analysts have varied price targets for Lincoln Electric, with Stifel Nicolaus raising its target to $250 and KeyCorp increasing it to $280, while the consensus rating is a "Hold" with an average target of $231.40.
• Lincoln Electric declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, to be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.2%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,077 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.37% of Lincoln Electric worth $39,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $638,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 35,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,746,000 after acquiring an additional 5,951 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 508,686 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $95,363,000 after acquiring an additional 115,813 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 752.2% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 10,107 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 8,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $575,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.40.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $247.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $249.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $227.06 and a 200-day moving average of $204.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The business's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 33.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total value of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total transaction of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.

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