Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2,984.6% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 439,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,479,000 after buying an additional 424,831 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,856,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $474,129,000 after purchasing an additional 121,914 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 687,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,578,000 after purchasing an additional 67,867 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,627,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,888,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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 cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $185.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

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.