Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Purchased by Capital International Sarl

Capital International Sarl boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 70.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,643 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock traded up $3.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $210.36. The stock had a trading volume of 267,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,022. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.15. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $195.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.64.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 43.81% and a net margin of 13.23%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.71.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.