5,201 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Purchased by Elios Financial Group Inc.

Elios Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 22.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 47,326 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,088,000 after buying an additional 8,819 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,134,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,688,000 after purchasing an additional 7,962 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 46.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 121,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,368,000 after purchasing an additional 38,368 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 3.0 %

LECO opened at $219.94 on Tuesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $261.13. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $198.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.44.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric 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 owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.