Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Holdings Raised by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 39.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,453 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,490 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $7,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.1% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% during the second quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 4,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $217.98. The stock had a trading volume of 160,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,443. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 33.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $221.67.

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.