Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 7,905 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $48,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LECO. DA Davidson began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $281.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $266.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.97. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.22 and a twelve month high of $310.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lincoln Electric

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.