Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $3.98 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 16,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,985,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LECO. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, United Community Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 2.6%

LECO stock opened at $266.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $263.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.93. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $205.36 and a one year high of $310.00. The stock has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.82 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.