West Family Investments Inc. Purchases New Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $667,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $333,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,828,000. Robotti Robert acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,898,000. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth $1,064,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of LECO stock traded up $2.60 on Monday, reaching $259.80. 124,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,812. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $268.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on LECO. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target for the company. 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 research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $307.22.

About Lincoln Electric

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.