Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,629 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.17.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO opened at $203.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.63. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $229.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value 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 $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.