Assetmark Inc. Increases Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth about $1,316,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,501,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $304,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,637,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,886,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $289.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $15.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $260.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.54. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.