Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth $499,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth about $121,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 129,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,955,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,352 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $177.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.78. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $242.65.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $187.00 to $179.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.00.

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.