New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $28.39 Million Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,330 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $28,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,381,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $925,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,377,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,110,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 361,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,642,000 after buying an additional 8,223 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $227.93 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.21 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The company has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.26. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.50.

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.