Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Position Raised by EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 48.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 891,111 shares during the quarter. Lincoln Electric accounts for approximately 4.4% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned about 4.83% of Lincoln Electric worth $518,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2,984.6% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 439,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $95,479,000 after buying an additional 424,831 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,856,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $474,129,000 after acquiring an additional 121,914 shares in the last quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at about $13,617,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at about $12,627,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth about $11,888,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $6.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $193.60. The stock had a trading volume of 195,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,907. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.00 and a 12-month high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.25. The stock has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.29.

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.