GW&K Investment Management LLC Sells 6,794 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

GW&K Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 207,714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,794 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $49,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $265.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.13 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.28.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 32.61%.

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.