4,000 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Purchased by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $496,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 358,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $195.76 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $185.23 and a 200-day moving average of $195.57. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $232.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.