VELA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 19.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,863 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 6,504 shares during the period. Lincoln Electric accounts for 2.2% of VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. VELA Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $8,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.
Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.1%
LECO opened at $238.31 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $249.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $239.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.14.
Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 33.71%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
LECO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.33.
View Our Latest Research Report on Lincoln Electric
Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric
In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total value of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,140,351.71. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Lincoln Electric Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

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