Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 1,135 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,381,000 after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,377,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 361,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,642,000 after purchasing an additional 8,223 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 59,080.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 23,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,303,000 after purchasing an additional 23,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after buying an additional 5,220 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.3 %

LECO opened at $235.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $248.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.86. The company has a market capitalization of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.21 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LECO. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

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

Lincoln Electric 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.