Geode Capital Management LLC Has $231.35 Million Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,204,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,640 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.13% of Lincoln Electric worth $231,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 60.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock traded down $3.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.80. The stock had a trading volume of 207,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,897. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.76. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $195.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.17.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.