Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $375,000 Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.3 %

LECO stock opened at $194.78 on Thursday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $169.51 and a one year high of $253.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $198.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 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 the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.81%.

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.