Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 64.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,623 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $499,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $496,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 2,088 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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 upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO traded down $1.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $185.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 287,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,685. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company's fifty day moving average price is $185.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.53. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $238.47. The company has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors 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 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.