Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $3.52 Million Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,431,181,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,077 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,811,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $21,914,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock traded up $2.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $259.80. The company had a trading volume of 124,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,812. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.38. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $216.22 and a 1 year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.57%.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.