Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,447 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.15% of Lincoln Electric worth $15,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in 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. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price 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. 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. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $4.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $181.13. 226,675 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 328,371. The company has a 50-day moving average of $194.60 and a 200-day moving average of $197.29. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $243.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. 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 issued its 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. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.