EFG International AG Makes New Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

EFG International AG bought a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LECO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $656,165,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,488,000 after buying an additional 4,655 shares in the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $1,677,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $415,155,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 23.2% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,005,000 after acquiring an additional 12,093 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $289.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $267.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.22 and a 1 year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric 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.