VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases 4,440 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,431,181,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $52,700,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $44,811,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $26,148,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at about $21,914,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total transaction of $4,051,903.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,899,031.85. This represents a 18.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.11.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.3%

LECO stock opened at $284.55 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

About Lincoln Electric

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.