World Investment Advisors LLC Invests $499,000 in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LECO. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 119,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,575,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth $361,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 1.6% during the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.7% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 129,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,358,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $199.15 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.80. The stock has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.16. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $195.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.17.

Lincoln Electric Profile

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.