Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Bought by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 20,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,864,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 221.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth $705,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth $651,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $192.02 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $198.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.99. The company has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $258.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.