Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 4,984 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its position in Lincoln Electric by 1.6%, selling 4,984 shares and ending the quarter with 303,755 shares (about 0.55% of the company) worth roughly $72.79 million.
• M&T Bank Corp dramatically increased its stake, purchasing 1,250,041 shares to hold 1,271,364 shares valued at about $304.67 million, and institutional investors now own 79.61% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and a $291.14 price target; Lincoln Electric recently beat Q4 EPS estimates and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 (annualized $3.16, ~1.2% yield).

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 303,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,984 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.55% of Lincoln Electric worth $72,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $304,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,041 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 54,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,075,000 after purchasing an additional 19,489 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $265,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,313 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,909,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $240.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $291.14.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.3%

LECO opened at $260.24 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $170.01 and a one year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.Lincoln Electric's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.76 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.91%.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: LECO is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company's portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.

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