Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target Cut to $179.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $187.00 to $179.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.91% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LECO. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 2.9 %

LECO traded down $5.12 on Wednesday, hitting $172.26. The company had a trading volume of 319,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,780. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.87. Lincoln Electric has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $242.65.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

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.