1,366 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Bought by Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $307,344,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $110,062,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $92,117,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 15,932.5% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,118,000 after buying an additional 334,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $325,359,000 after buying an additional 234,515 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $201.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. 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 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $229.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.63.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Lincoln Electric's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

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.

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