Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Reduces Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 32.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,061 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,498 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $197.27. 200,084 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $199.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.46. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.51 and a 52 week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on LECO. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.50.

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.