Two Sigma Advisers LP Reduces Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Two Sigma Advisers LP cut its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 33,000 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $7,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock traded up $4.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $196.27. 350,124 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 330,589. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $222.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $185.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.08. The firm has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.40.

Lincoln Electric Profile

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.