Modern Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,480,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LECO. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings 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 worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Lincoln Electric Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $4.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $190.29. 277,097 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 322,679. The firm has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, 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 current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $255.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $198.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.71.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $995.94 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.81%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

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 transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp increased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.60.

About Lincoln Electric

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.