Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Trims Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. trimmed its stake by 21.6% in Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) in Q4, selling 10,614 shares and ending the quarter with 38,462 shares worth about $9.22 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat's consensus is a "Hold" with a $291.14 target, while individual firms range from KeyCorp's $340 overweight to Stifel's $264 hold and Morgan Stanley's $247 underweight.
• Lincoln Electric beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.65 vs. $2.53), reported $1.08 billion in revenue, and declared a $0.79 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.16, ~1.2% yield); the stock trades near $260 with a $14.26 billion market cap.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. trimmed its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,462 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,614 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $9,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 293.1% in the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 79,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,161,000 after purchasing an additional 59,619 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LECO. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $264.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $240.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $291.14.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.5%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $260.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.28. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.69 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.46. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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%.The business's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 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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