Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 51,377 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 206,185 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 51,377 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.37% of Lincoln Electric worth $38,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,974,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of LECO traded up $5.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $183.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,556. The company has a 50 day moving average of $187.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $238.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.