Vanguard Group Inc. Has $1.05 Billion Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,601,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 18,805 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.93% of Lincoln Electric worth $1,050,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 85.5% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $499,000. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 20.3% during the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 31,290 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,008,000 after buying an additional 5,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $496,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

LECO traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $192.67. 26,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 321,901. The stock has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $253.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $198.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.05.

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Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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.