Global Retirement Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 4,176 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $956,360,000 after buying an additional 3,824,077 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $415,155,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $146,135,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,691,000 after acquiring an additional 486,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth about $108,330,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $281.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.22 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $266.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.97.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric 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.