O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Buys 347 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 85.5% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,771 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $499,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $496,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on LECO shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $167.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $195.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $248.85.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.