Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Purchases 7,962 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,962 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.42% of Lincoln Electric worth $45,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 48.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $210,831,000 after acquiring an additional 494,464 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,604,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $23,233,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock traded up $6.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $219.94. 385,334 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,948. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $198.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.44. The company has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $261.13. 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 results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com lowered Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $220.00.

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.