Vestcor Inc Has $1.06 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Vestcor Inc decreased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,518 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,061,000 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 the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LECO shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $190.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.99. 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 cap of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.