BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys 3,325 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 1,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $262.13 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $258.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $199.13 and a one year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.00.

About Lincoln Electric

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.