Commerce Bank Makes New $603,000 Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $899,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $417,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,107,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at about $134,577,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on LECO shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.60 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $259.80. 124,872 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,812. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $268.47 and a 200 day moving average of $263.38.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.23% and a net margin of 12.35%.The business’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves industrial, construction, energy, transportation and other end markets that use fabrication and joining technologies.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding machines, welding consumables such as electrodes and wire, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, robotic welding systems, and related automation solutions.