BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys Shares of 2,826 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake 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 institutional investor acquired 2,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $496,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,262 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 358,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $184.59. 270,895 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 326,768. The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $238.47. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $189.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.44. 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.00.

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.