Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 75,542 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 28,458 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Lincoln Electric worth $14,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 2.4%

LECO traded up $4.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $196.20. The company had a trading volume of 147,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,854. The company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.99 and a 200-day moving average of $195.08. 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 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $222.52.

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). The business had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.40.

About Lincoln Electric

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.