Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Acquired by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 378.5% in the first quarter, ending with 7,273 shares valued at about $1.81 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: Lincoln Electric has an overall Hold consensus rating, with five Buy ratings, three Hold ratings, and one Sell rating, and an average target price of $299.38.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $2.50 and revenue of $1.12 billion, while insider trading showed EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares in June.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 378.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,753 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, United Community Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $299.38.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $245.44 on Tuesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $216.22 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average is $261.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company's stock.

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.

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