Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 2,159 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 123.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,904 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,159 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LECO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,601,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,050,157,000 after buying an additional 18,805 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $325,359,000 after buying an additional 234,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $307,344,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,235,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $231,691,000 after acquiring an additional 31,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,163,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $218,050,000 after buying an additional 65,154 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ LECO traded up $6.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $184.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 118,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,048. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $187.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.10. 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 issued 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 net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The company had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp cut their price objective 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 reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.00.

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.