Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Lincoln Electric worth $6,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $307,344,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth $110,062,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $92,117,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $325,359,000 after buying an additional 234,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 268,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,284,000 after buying an additional 147,239 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded down $1.91 on Monday, reaching $183.85. The company had a trading volume of 68,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,217. The firm has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $238.47. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $190.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.51.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $995.94 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.00.

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.