Boothbay Fund Management LLC Sells 9,037 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC cut its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 82.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,037 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $680,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 35,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,746,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $267,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 123.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,904 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of LECO traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $182.77. 285,800 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 330,902. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LECO shares. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.00.

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.