Norges Bank Invests $354.06 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,707,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $354,063,000. Norges Bank owned about 3.09% of Lincoln Electric at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $141,550,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth $28,548,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 195.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,187,000 after purchasing an additional 147,483 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 24.4% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 504,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $104,589,000 after buying an additional 98,920 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,558,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $323,167,000 after buying an additional 83,035 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,140,351.71. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO opened at $239.43 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $233.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.04. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $249.19. The company has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.Lincoln Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 33.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital set a $285.00 price target on Lincoln Electric and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $247.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Lincoln Electric

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.

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