Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in Lincoln Electric by 1.6% in Q4, selling 84,025 shares and now owning 5,315,691 shares — about 9.66% of the company valued at roughly $1.274 billion.
• Several institutional investors notably increased positions (M&T Bank Corp added ~1.25M shares, a 5,862% jump), leaving institutional ownership at about 79.61%.
• Lincoln Electric beat quarterly estimates with $2.50 EPS vs. $2.42 expected and $1.12B revenue (+11.7% YoY), announced a $0.79 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.16, ~1.2% yield), while analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $291.14.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,315,691 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 84,025 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.66% of Lincoln Electric worth $1,273,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,041 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $123,691,000 after purchasing an additional 486,090 shares in the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 675.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 310,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,107,000 after purchasing an additional 270,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,946,000 after purchasing an additional 221,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $200,517,000 after purchasing an additional 167,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $240.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $291.14.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $265.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.28. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.89 and a 12-month high of $310.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $261.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The business's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.76 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Lincoln Electric Company 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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