Two Sigma Securities LLC Acquires Shares of 3,626 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $185.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. 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 50-day moving average price of $190.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.43. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $238.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.94 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.