Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Holdings Lifted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,235,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,033 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.19% of Lincoln Electric worth $231,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,459 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,028 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 82,447 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,456,000 after buying an additional 2,383 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,326,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 4.1 %

LECO stock opened at $172.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.29 and a 1 year high of $250.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $197.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target 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 boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.60.

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.