Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Position Decreased by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 68.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,287 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 85,710 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $7,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,974,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,813,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $195.18. The company had a trading volume of 36,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,597. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $186.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $222.52.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. Lincoln Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 1.54%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.