17,021 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 17,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,500,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $656,165,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,077 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,175,000 after acquiring an additional 6,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,280,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,767,000 after acquiring an additional 158,305 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $284.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.57%.

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.