Royce & Associates LP Has $39.94 Million Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $39,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the third quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc now owns 2,796 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 52.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 343,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,998,000 after acquiring an additional 117,600 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,490,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 179.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Zacks Research lowered Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $287.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.69. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.