Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 525,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,206 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.92% of Lincoln Electric worth $99,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.29.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of LECO opened at $189.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $192.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.51. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.00 and a twelve month high of $261.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.