Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 36.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,629 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LECO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $307,344,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $110,062,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,117,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,359,000 after buying an additional 234,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 268,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,284,000 after buying an additional 147,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $203.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.63. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $229.00. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The firm had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.17.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.