William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 609,812 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Posted by George Bondi on May 24th, 2026

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 609,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $146,135,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,478,000 after acquiring an additional 72,826 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,041 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 31.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,946,000 after purchasing an additional 221,853 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $200,517,000 after purchasing an additional 167,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 21.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,167,000 after purchasing an additional 130,332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of LECO opened at $263.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.83. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $188.65 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $257.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $297.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on LECO

About Lincoln Electric

(Free Report)

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.