Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stake Decreased by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 26,261 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Lincoln Electric worth $23,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 40,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 331.6% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 11,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,404,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 10,623 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $4,436,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LECO. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.46 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $196.35. 16,829 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 330,050. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $185.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.57. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $238.47. The company has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The firm had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.