William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 609,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $146,135,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.11% of Lincoln Electric at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $239,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $263.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $257.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.65 and a twelve month high of $310.00.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 32.61%.

About Lincoln Electric

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.