Impax Asset Management Group plc Invests $1.14 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.4% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 20,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,291,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 216.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,184,000 after acquiring an additional 36,878 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,550,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 183,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,969,000 after purchasing an additional 26,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Trust Co bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,431,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $225.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $235.59 and its 200 day moving average is $222.34. The stock has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $249.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research lowered Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Roth Capital set a $285.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.00.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.