Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 212,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,724 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC owned 0.39% of Lincoln Electric worth $50,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 239.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 184,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,438,000 after buying an additional 129,932 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $1,031,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $6,684,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 15,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,811,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3,475.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 51,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,100,000 after purchasing an additional 49,872 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $297.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $258.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $258.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.39. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $188.65 and a twelve month high of $310.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.24.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.