Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 81.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 494,464 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.95% of Lincoln Electric worth $210,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 4,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $782,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of LECO traded down $1.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $216.59. 27,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 318,921. The business has a 50 day moving average of $191.84 and a 200 day moving average of $197.58. The company has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.51 and a 1-year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LECO shares. StockNews.com lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.67.

About Lincoln Electric

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.