Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 7,184.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,536 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Lincoln Electric worth $5,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $3.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $213.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 231,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,758. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $191.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $221.67.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.