Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stake Raised by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 20.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,001 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 194.4% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $186.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $194.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.13. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $164.00 and a one year high of $261.13.

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 net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.43.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.