Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 10,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,761,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,820,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $2,162,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $292,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ LECO opened at $284.89 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $267.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.10. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.22 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

About Lincoln Electric

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.