Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Sold by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,970 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 553.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,582,000 after acquiring an additional 29,505 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,017,000 after buying an additional 10,961 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LECO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.00.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $273.54 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.13 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 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.