Norges Bank Invests $415.16 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,732,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $415,155,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $165,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 153.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 266.5% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $252.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $258.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.76. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.65 and a 52-week high of $310.00. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric 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.