Quantbot Technologies LP Decreases Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 95.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 786 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,396 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Vestcor Inc grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $499,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $496,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,262 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 $11,777,590.20. This represents 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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $15.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $179.43. 403,290 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 323,421. The firm has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G 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 quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.90.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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, StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.