Diamant Asset Management Inc. Has $4.31 Million Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Diamant Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Lincoln Electric comprises 2.7% of Diamant Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Diamant Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $65,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.0 %

LECO opened at $209.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $204.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.16.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $195.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.17.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.