Financial Counselors Inc. Buys 5,274 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 20.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,274 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Lincoln Electric worth $6,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,125,000. Elios Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $999,000. BDF Gestion bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,858,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,688,000 after acquiring an additional 7,962 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $216.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $199.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.43. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 33.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

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.