Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 60.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 361,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,642,000 after purchasing an additional 8,223 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 59,080.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 23,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,303,000 after buying an additional 23,632 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1,014.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,010,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $229.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.80 and a 12-month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of Lincoln Electric 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.86.

Lincoln Electric 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.