Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $24.96 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.23% of Lincoln Electric worth $24,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 60.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of LECO stock opened at $203.80 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.16.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 33.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LECO. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $195.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.17.

About Lincoln Electric

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.