Element Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,132 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000. Lincoln Electric comprises approximately 0.7% of Element Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 553.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,582,000 after buying an additional 29,505 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,017,000 after acquiring an additional 10,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LECO. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $253.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $258.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $271.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.69.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.91%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.