American Century Companies Inc. Buys 117,600 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 117,600 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.62% of Lincoln Electric worth $80,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,490,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 179.5% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 22.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 17,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5.5% in the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 9.3% in the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 2.4%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $280.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $267.99 and a 200-day moving average of $248.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%.Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 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 Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 33.91%.

Lincoln Electric Profile

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.