Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires Shares of 7,487 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,404,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,974,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,813,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $203.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $229.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.61.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LECO. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.17.

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.