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

Ethic Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LECO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $307,344,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth $110,062,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $92,117,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 15,932.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,118,000 after buying an additional 334,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 234,515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $195.57 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $233.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $185.34 and its 200 day moving average is $195.57.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.17.

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.