MQS Management LLC Makes New $632,000 Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 62.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 65,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,442,000 after buying an additional 25,082 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 45,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,593,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,709,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,458,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,062 shares during the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,943,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $1,125,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $214.54 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $192.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. StockNews.com cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.67.

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.