Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC reduced its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Rating) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,784 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.9% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth about $591,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,200,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $716,620,000 after buying an additional 38,059 shares during the period. 73.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Steven B. Hedlund sold 8,235 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,371,292.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,123 shares in the company, valued at $6,847,801.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Lincoln Electric 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,800,546. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $166.52, for a total value of $1,371,292.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on LECO. 888 reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $173.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, CL King initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.50.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of LECO opened at $170.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.72. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.17 and a 12 month high of $176.52.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 48.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Friday, June 30th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 29th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.96%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.