Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,802 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.09% of Lincoln Electric worth $9,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth $247,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 37.7% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 142.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after buying an additional 8,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $731,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.67.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $192.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.51 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

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.