Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.13% of Lincoln Electric worth $14,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $518,210,000 after buying an additional 891,111 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 12.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,232 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $474,527,000 after acquiring an additional 280,466 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $210,831,000 after acquiring an additional 494,464 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,647 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $99,155,000 after purchasing an additional 38,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $49,592,000 after purchasing an additional 256,872 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock traded down $1.85 during trading on Monday, hitting $208.07. The stock had a trading volume of 363,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,068. The company's 50-day moving average price is $203.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.54. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on 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, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric 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.