Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 4,898 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,898 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $13,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $354,063,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at about $141,550,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,691,000 after purchasing an additional 486,090 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 504,479 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,589,000 after purchasing an additional 98,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,558,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,167,000 after buying an additional 83,035 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Roth Mkm set a $285.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $256.77 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $264.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $245.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.26.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.33% and a net margin of 12.56%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

About Lincoln Electric

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.