The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 8,819 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,819 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of Lincoln Electric worth $9,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,210,000 after buying an additional 891,111 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,831,000 after acquiring an additional 494,464 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,592,000 after acquiring an additional 256,872 shares during the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $24,604,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $23,233,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ LECO opened at $213.84 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $201.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13.

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

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

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.