Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Sells 256 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lessened its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 151.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $239.77 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $248.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.86. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.21 and a 12 month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.18%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.31%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.