Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $4.46 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,462,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2,984.6% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 439,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,479,000 after purchasing an additional 424,831 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 7.0% during 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 during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,627,000. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at $11,888,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1,755.5% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 45,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,649,000 after purchasing an additional 43,378 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $185.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $192.71 and its 200 day moving average is $210.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.00 and a 1 year 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.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.29.

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.