Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Acquires Shares of 2,031 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,670,000 after buying an additional 1,250,041 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,691,000 after buying an additional 486,090 shares during the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 675.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 310,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,107,000 after buying an additional 270,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,946,000 after buying an additional 221,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $200,517,000 after buying an additional 167,773 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $260.92 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.43. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.65 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.