4,251 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Acquired by Telos Capital Management Inc.

Telos Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $236.61 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $248.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.38. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.21 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.26. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 30.31%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LECO shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.50.

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.