Fayez Sarofim & Co Trims Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Fayez Sarofim & Co lessened its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 274,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $51,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $177.38 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $193.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $242.65. The company has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. On average, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.00.

About Lincoln Electric

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, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.