Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $2.11 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,110,000. Lincoln Electric makes up about 2.2% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,954,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,605,000 after acquiring an additional 63,007 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,289,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $894,478,000 after acquiring an additional 15,200 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,958,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $373,594,000 after acquiring an additional 59,991 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,049,854 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,853,000 after acquiring an additional 174,278 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 744,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,885,000 after acquiring an additional 266,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $0.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $238.00. 47,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 274,355. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $248.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.53. The company has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.21 and a 12-month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.26. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 30.31%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.50.

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.