Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,724 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $50,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $415,155,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $165,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 153.7% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $197,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 266.5% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LECO stock opened at $258.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.65 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.39.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.61%.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.