Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 9,450 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,450 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,772,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,974,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,813,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO stock traded down $2.89 on Friday, hitting $191.52. 267,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,589. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $222.52. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $186.05 and a 200 day moving average of $195.54.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.17.

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.