Meeder Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 378.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,753 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $956,360,000 after buying an additional 3,824,077 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,175,000 after acquiring an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,280,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,767,000 after acquiring an additional 158,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,041 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 target price (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.38.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $245.44 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $261.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.83. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.