Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Newly Bought by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 45,451 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $12,025,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super owned approximately 0.08% of Lincoln Electric at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,561,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $656,165,000 after buying an additional 5,354,141 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,700,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,811,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,148,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $21,914,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total transaction of $4,051,903.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,899,031.85. This trade represents a 18.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. DA Davidson set a $340.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $319.11.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $284.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. 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 data on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.30%.

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.

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