Hsbc Holdings PLC Invests $638,000 in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $499,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth $496,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,262 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 358,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, 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 through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LECO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.87. The company had a trading volume of 287,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,833. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $185.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.53. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $238.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The firm 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%. The company'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. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.99%.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.