ARK Investment Management LLC Sells 393 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

ARK Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Elios Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $999,000. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 85.5% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 3,771 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.5% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,688,000 after acquiring an additional 7,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $499,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $207.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.51 and a 12 month high of $261.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $195.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.73.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.