Jane Street Group LLC Purchases 11,360 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 95.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,360 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LECO. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 5,906 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LECO. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.17.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $185.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.56. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $238.47.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.99%.

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.