Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Invests $279,000 in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $956,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,077 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,155,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,135,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $108,330,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 72.1% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 800,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $199,395,000 after purchasing an additional 335,470 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $2.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $259.80. 124,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,812. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $268.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.38. The company has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. 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.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 31.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Lincoln Electric Profile

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.