ING Groep NV Lowers Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

ING Groep NV trimmed its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $436,478,000 after buying an additional 72,826 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $415,155,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,175,000 after buying an additional 6,070 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,670,000 after buying an additional 1,250,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 31.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,946,000 after buying an additional 221,853 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LECO opened at $260.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.98. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.13 and a 1-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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric 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.