Cerity Partners LLC Sells 28,625 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 28,625 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.16% of Lincoln Electric worth $17,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,974,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,813,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock traded up $4.21 on Friday, reaching $181.13. 226,675 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 328,371. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $243.04. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $194.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.60.

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.