4,440 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 126.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LECO. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 18.8% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.1% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.3%

LECO opened at $284.55 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.17. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.06% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 30.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson set a $340.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total transaction of $4,051,903.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,899,031.85. The trade was a 18.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.