Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Bought by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,490 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $288,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $153,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,505 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction 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 approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.00.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.1 %

LECO opened at $180.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $242.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $194.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.11.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.