The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires New Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 39,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,530,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 553.4% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 8.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,582,000 after acquiring an additional 29,505 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 8.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,017,000 after acquiring an additional 10,961 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first 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. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $284.89 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 31.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

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

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.