1,909 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Acquired by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,478,000 after acquiring an additional 72,826 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,041 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,946,000 after acquiring an additional 221,853 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $200,517,000 after acquiring an additional 167,773 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,167,000 after acquiring an additional 130,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 target price (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $263.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $188.65 and a one year high of $310.00. The stock has a market cap of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.20.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio 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.