Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,904 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,559 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $6,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 28.7% in the fourth 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

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Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ LECO traded up $5.52 on Monday, hitting $197.54. The company had a trading volume of 297,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $258.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $198.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LECO. KeyCorp upped their price target 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 upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.