Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Holdings Raised by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 2,383 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.15% of Lincoln Electric worth $15,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,601,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,050,157,000 after purchasing an additional 18,805 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $307,344,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $231,345,000 after acquiring an additional 61,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,163,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $218,050,000 after acquiring an additional 65,154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LECO. Barclays increased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.6 %

LECO stock traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $180.04. 16,122 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 327,597. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $243.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $194.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.81%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.