California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 16,518,967 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 25,707.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,583,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,518,967 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.30% of Lincoln Electric worth $4,403,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 9.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $271.52 on Thursday. 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 $14.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $268.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.93.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Michael Whitehead sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.