Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,163,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 65,154 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 2.06% of Lincoln Electric worth $218,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $195.82. The stock had a trading volume of 397,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,781. 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 $169.51 and a 12 month high of $261.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $196.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.08.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during 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%. Analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.