Fayez Sarofim & Co Has $51.39 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Fayez Sarofim & Co lessened its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,114 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 0.49% of Lincoln Electric worth $51,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter valued at about $499,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $496,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $67,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:LECO traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.76. 237,051 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 328,894. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $190.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.45. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. 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 twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $238.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LECO. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.00.

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.