Van ECK Associates Corp Has $1.33 Million Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 283.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,854 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 5,805 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 68.0% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 257 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 334 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. 78.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 8,962 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.27, for a total transaction of $1,794,819.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,570 shares in the company, valued at $3,919,283.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 8,962 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.27, for a total transaction of $1,794,819.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,919,283.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher L. Mapes sold 89,030 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $17,291,406.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,384 shares in the company, valued at $35,034,180.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,757 shares of company stock worth $22,975,215 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

A number of brokerages have commented on LECO. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lowered Lincoln Electric from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $200.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 30th. 888 reissued a "maintains" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $176.00 to $211.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $187.00.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Lincoln Electric

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $194.87 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.81. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.01 and a 1-year high of $210.86. The firm has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 46.60% and a net margin of 12.04%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.26%.

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, as well as consumables used in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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