Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric by 20% in Q4, selling 3,912 shares and retaining 15,687 shares valued at about $3.76 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $291.14 after several firms both raised and lowered their targets.
• Lincoln Electric beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.65 vs. $2.53), reported $1.08 billion in revenue, and announced a $0.79 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.16, ~1.2% yield) payable July 15 to holders of record June 30.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,687 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,912 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 3,860.0% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 109.4% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 201 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Lincoln Electric from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $264.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $240.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $291.14.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $261.20 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $263.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.82. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $170.01 and a one year high of $310.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.91%.

About Lincoln Electric

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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