Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $4.76 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired 25,169 shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, valued at approximately $4.76 million.
• Lincoln Electric recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with a yield of 1.32%, to be paid on October 15th.
• The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, while revenue increased by 2.4% year-over-year.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 25,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,761,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $180.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $222.60.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.3%

Lincoln Electric stock traded down $2.87 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $224.08. 235,537 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 345,993. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $228.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $208.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 11.44%. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

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.