Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 2,087 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,087 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $23,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $474,527,000 after purchasing an additional 280,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,345,000 after acquiring an additional 61,640 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,831,000 after purchasing an additional 494,464 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 328,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,629,000 after purchasing an additional 6,912 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,592,000 after purchasing an additional 256,872 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.50.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $192.11 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13. The company has a market capitalization of $10.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.