Ethic Inc. Decreases Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Ethic Inc. lessened its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,601,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,050,157,000 after acquiring an additional 18,805 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 15.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 234,515 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $307,344,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,235,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,691,000 after purchasing an additional 31,033 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $218,050,000 after buying an additional 65,154 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $195.57 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $185.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.57. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $233.17.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.