Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Sells 91,252 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lowered its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,166 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 91,252 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.22% of Lincoln Electric worth $31,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 60,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,500,000 after purchasing an additional 9,518 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Glenview Trust Co purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,561,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $259.80. The company had a trading volume of 124,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,812. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.22 and a 1 year high of $310.00. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $268.47 and a 200 day moving average of $263.38. The company has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

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.