Carnegie Investment Counsel Buys 59,619 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) by 293.1%, buying 59,619 shares to hold 79,958 shares worth about $19.16 million (roughly 0.15% of the company) at quarter-end, amid overall institutional ownership of about 79.6%.
• Analysts are mixed with a consensus rating of Hold and a $291.14 target (four Buy, four Hold, one Sell); several firms have recently cut price targets (e.g., Barclays, Jefferies) while others maintain higher forecasts (e.g., Baird $330).
• Lincoln Electric slightly beat EPS expectations ($2.65 vs. $2.53) while revenue of $1.08B missed estimates but rose 5.5% year-over-year; the company has a $14.05B market cap, P/E of 27.5, and pays a $0.79 quarterly dividend ($3.16 annual, 1.2% yield).

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 293.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,619 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel owned approximately 0.15% of Lincoln Electric worth $19,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $436,478,000 after buying an additional 72,826 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 31.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,946,000 after buying an additional 221,853 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $200,517,000 after buying an additional 167,773 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 21.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $171,167,000 after buying an additional 130,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.5% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 375,068 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,452,000 after buying an additional 5,365 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $297.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $291.14.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $256.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.69 and a 1-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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 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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