Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 70.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,296 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 59,080.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 23,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,303,000 after acquiring an additional 23,632 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1,014.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,090,000 after buying an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,010,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 657,126.7% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 98,584 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,922,000 after buying an additional 98,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LECO. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $208.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $210.25.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $247.97. 256,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,652. The business's 50 day moving average is $245.74 and its 200-day moving average is $214.18. The company has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.36 and a 1-year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 30.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric 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.