Headlands Technologies LLC Purchases 589 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 90.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $178.79 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $193.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.00 and a 52-week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.