Natixis Takes $1.65 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,821 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,654,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during 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 lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 37.5% in the 4th 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. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $219.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $177.00 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $242.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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