Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 421 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elios Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $999,000. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 85.5% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 3,771 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth about $499,000. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 31,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,274 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $196.35 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG 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 $258.62.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.60.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric 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.