Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stake Lowered by Boston Family Office LLC

Boston Family Office LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 510 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC owned about 0.07% of Lincoln Electric worth $7,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $189.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $198.57 and its 200-day moving average is $197.95. The company has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, 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 $255.60.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.