Swiss National Bank Purchases 2,000 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Swiss National Bank raised its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Rating) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.23% of Lincoln Electric worth $19,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. 888 restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $177.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $173.00 to $176.00 in a report on Monday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.50.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $168.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.93. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.17 and a fifty-two week high of $176.52. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $164.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.58.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 48.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michele R. Kuhrt sold 3,505 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.10, for a total value of $589,190.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,800,546. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michele R. Kuhrt sold 3,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.10, for a total value of $589,190.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,800,546. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Steven B. Hedlund sold 8,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.52, for a total transaction of $1,371,292.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,847,801.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc engages in the manufacture of arc welding equipment, consumable welding products and other welding and cutting products. Its welding products include arc welding power sources, wire feeding systems, robotic welding packages, fume extraction equipment, consumable electrodes and fluxes.