Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc cut its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,221 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,958 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $6,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,050,157,000 after purchasing an additional 18,805 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,359,000 after acquiring an additional 234,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $307,344,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,163,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $218,050,000 after acquiring an additional 65,154 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.8%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $201.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.63. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $229.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.