Franklin Resources Inc. Has $7.77 Million Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,459 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,028 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $7,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 82,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $2,326,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $307,344,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

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Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded up $4.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.13. The company had a trading volume of 226,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 328,371. The stock has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $243.04. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $194.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate 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.