BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Acquires Shares of 15,600 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,937,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LECO. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $499,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $496,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% during the 4th 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. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO traded up $0.91 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $181.38. 380,438 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,287. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $238.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The business's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.