JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 436,972 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,121,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 436,972 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $264,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $1,020,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 216.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 53,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,184,000 after acquiring an additional 36,878 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 239.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 184,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,438,000 after acquiring an additional 129,932 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 18.9% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 34,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 13.0% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 86,305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,353,000 after acquiring an additional 9,897 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 target price (up previously from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $288.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $261.42 and a 200 day moving average of $245.83. The stock has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $310.00.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.91%.

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.