Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 95.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,360 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
LECO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. KeyCorp dropped their price objective 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 decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.17.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LECO
Insider Activity
In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.
Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.1%
Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $195.76. The stock had a trading volume of 392,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,274. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $233.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.57. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.
Lincoln Electric Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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