EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,572,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 106,909 shares during the period. Lincoln Electric makes up about 3.8% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned approximately 4.56% of Lincoln Electric worth $482,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,974,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,813,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock opened at $187.21 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $185.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $238.47.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.