Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 6,400 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 36.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.1% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $436,478,000 after acquiring an additional 72,826 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,041 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 31.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $216,946,000 after acquiring an additional 221,853 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $200,517,000 after acquiring an additional 167,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 21.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,167,000 after buying an additional 130,332 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LECO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $297.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $263.43 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $257.88 and its 200 day moving average is $256.38. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $188.65 and a one year high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.