Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stock: Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE Increases Position

Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,441 shares during the period. Lincoln Electric accounts for about 3.6% of Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE owned about 0.08% of Lincoln Electric worth $11,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LECO. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth $138,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $271.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.78.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $255.96 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.22 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $268.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.