MQS Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,458,387,000 after purchasing an additional 15,062 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 48.0% in the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,210,000 after acquiring an additional 891,111 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,856,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $474,129,000 after acquiring an additional 121,914 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,155,000 after purchasing an additional 38,206 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

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

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders 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 is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LECO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.