Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,049,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $190,853,000 after purchasing an additional 174,278 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 721,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $131,179,000 after purchasing an additional 58,695 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 619,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $112,705,000 after purchasing an additional 58,254 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 473,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,029,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 361,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,642,000 after purchasing an additional 8,223 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $239.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.21 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $248.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 30.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric 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.