Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Has $11.57 Million Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 20.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,601 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 0.09% of Lincoln Electric worth $11,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LECO. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 82.4% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 619.3% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $246.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $252.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.55.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.33% and a net margin of 12.56%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 32.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $265.00 to $252.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Roth Capital set a $285.00 target price on Lincoln Electric and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.83.

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.