1,707 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Acquired by Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,707 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Elios Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at about $999,000. Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 85.5% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.5% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,688,000 after buying an additional 7,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at $499,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock traded down $2.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $192.02. 1,036,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 315,172. The company's fifty day moving average is $198.08 and its 200-day moving average is $196.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LECO. Barclays increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric 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.