GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 4.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 214,508 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,122 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $50,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LECO. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $436,478,000 after purchasing an additional 72,826 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $354,063,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 5.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,558,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $323,167,000 after buying an additional 83,035 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth approximately $141,550,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,691,000 after buying an additional 486,090 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $282.62 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $268.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $253.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.83.

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.