Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 2,088 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 358,331 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.64% of Lincoln Electric worth $67,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of LECO opened at $197.52 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.51 and a 12 month high of $261.13. The firm's 50 day moving average is $197.37 and its 200-day moving average is $197.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LECO. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.60.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.

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