Benjamin Edwards Inc. Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LECO. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 16.4% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 3,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 31,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,008,000 after buying an additional 5,274 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $114,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 12,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 7.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $209.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.16. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $203.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

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.