Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Position Decreased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Lincoln Electric worth $24,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,094 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,381,000 after buying an additional 4,770 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $925,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $13,377,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $2,110,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 361,637 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $78,642,000 after purchasing an additional 8,223 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of LECO stock traded up $1.69 during trading on Thursday, reaching $231.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 118,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,065. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $243.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.46. The company has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 43.81% and a net margin of 13.23%. The business had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $228.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% 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.