Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 204 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LECO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,709,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,458,387,000 after acquiring an additional 15,062 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $518,210,000 after buying an additional 891,111 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in 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 valued at $474,129,000 after buying an additional 121,914 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $99,155,000 after acquiring an additional 38,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 226,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,946,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $200.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.00 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $189.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.54. The company has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 31.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.67.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.