Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 677.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 14,900 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 68.0% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 257 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. 78.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NASDAQ LECO opened at $185.62 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $195.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.01 and a 1 year high of $210.86.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 46.60% and a net margin of 12.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, September 30th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 31.26%.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $176.00 to $211.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. 888 restated a "maintains" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Read Our Latest Report on Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Christopher L. Mapes sold 89,030 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,384 shares in the company, valued at $35,034,180.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.64, for a total transaction of $204,204.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,174,958.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher L. Mapes sold 89,030 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $17,291,406.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,034,180.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,117 shares of company stock worth $21,218,936. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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