Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 16,585 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,504 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,585 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,107,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.49. The company had a trading volume of 53,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,114. The firm's fifty day moving average is $185.56 and its 200 day moving average is $195.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $229.00.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.